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Disembodeid Spacesuit to Orbit Earth...
01.26.2006
Using a simple police scanner or ham radio, you can listen to a disembodied spacesuit circling Earth.
January 26, 2006: One of the strangest satellites in the history of the space age is about to go into orbit. Launch
date: Feb. 3rd. That's when astronauts onboard the International Space Station (ISS) will hurl an empty spacesuit
overboard.
The spacesuit is the satellite -- "SuitSat" for short.
"SuitSat is a Russian brainstorm," explains Frank Bauer of NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center. "Some of our Russian partners in the
ISS program, mainly a group led by Sergey Samburov, had an idea:
Maybe we can turn old spacesuits into useful satellites." SuitSat is a
first test of that idea.
Right: ISS astronaut Mike Finke spacewalks in a Russian Orlon
spacesuit in 2004. SuitSat will have no one inside. [Cick on photo]
"We've equipped a Russian Orlon spacesuit with three batteries, a radio transmitter, and internal sensors to
measure temperature and battery power," says Bauer. "As SuitSat circles Earth, it will transmit its condition to the
ground."
Unlike a normal spacewalk, with a human inside the suit, SuitSat's temperature controls will be turned off to
conserve power. The suit, arms and legs akimbo, possibly spinning, will be exposed to the fierce rays of the sun
with no way to regulate its internal temperature.
"Will the suit overheat? How long will the batteries last? Can we get a clear transmission if the suit tumbles?"
wonders Bauer. These are some of the questions SuitSat will answer, laying the groundwork for SuitSats of the
future.
SuitSat can be heard by anyone on the ground. "All you need is an antenna (the bigger the better) and a radio
receiver that you can tune to 145.990 MHz FM," says Bauer. "A police band scanner or a hand-talkie ham radio
would work just fine." He encourages students, scouts, teachers and ham radio operators to tune in.
For years, Bauer and colleagues at Goddard have been connecting kids on Earth with astronauts on the ISS
through the ARISS program (Amateur Radio on International Space Station). "There's a ham rig on the ISS, and
the astronauts love talking to students when they pass over schools," Bauer explains. ARISS is co-sponsoring
SuitSat along with the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL),
the Russian Space Agency and NASA.
Right: Tune your FM radio to 145.990 MHz. {Cick on Photo}
When will SuitSat orbit over your home town?
Use Science@NASA's J-Pass utility to find out. The online program
will ask for your zip code—that's all. Then it will tell you when the ISS
is going to orbit over your area. (Be sure to click the "options" button
and select "all passes.") Because the ISS and SuitSat share similar
orbits, predictions for one will serve for the other. Observers in the
United States will find that SuitSat passes overhead once or twice a day—usually between midnight and 4 o'clock
in the morning. At that time of day, SuitSat and the ISS will be in Earth's shadow and, thus, too dark to see with the
naked eye. You'll need a radio to detect them.
"Point your antenna to the sky during the 5-to-10 minute flyby," advises Bauer, and this is what you'll hear:
SuitSat transmits for 30 seconds, pauses for 30 seconds, and then repeats. "This is SuitSat-1, RS0RS," the
transmission begins, followed by a prerecorded greeting in five languages. The greeting contains "special words"
in English, French, Japanese, Russian, German and Spanish for students to record and decipher. (Awards will be
given to students who do this. Scroll to the "more information" area at the end of this story for details.)
Next comes telemetry: temperature, battery power, mission elapsed time. "The telemetry is stated in plain
language—in English," says Bauer. Everyone will be privy to SuitSat's condition. Bauer adds, "Suitsat 'talks' using
a voice synthesizer. It's pretty amazing."
The transmission ends with a Slow Scan TV picture. Of what? "We're not
telling," laughs Bauer. "It's a mystery picture." (More awards will be given to
students who figure out what it is.)
Right: In a laboratory at Goddard, SuitSat bends over to display its antenna
and control box. {Click on photo}
Students and teachers who want to try this, but have no clue how to begin,
should contact their local ham radio club. There are thousands of them around
the country. Click here to find a club near you. "Hams are notoriously outgoing; most would be delighted to help
students tune in to SuitSat," believes Bauer.
Bauer expects SuitSat's batteries to last 2 to 4 days. "Although longer is possible," he allows. After that, SuitSat will
begin a slow silent spiral into Earth's atmosphere. Weeks or months later, no one knows exactly when, it will
become a brilliant fireball over some part of Earth—a fitting end for a trailblazer.
Visit SuitSat.org for launch updates and sighting reports.
More Information
This is SuitSat-1! -- an overview of the SuitSat mission by Frank Bauer.
Students and teachers: How do you get your Suitsat awards? Frank Bauer explains:
"Those that hear SuitSat should send their signal reports with a large (9x12 inch) self-addressed stamped
envelope to one of the addresses listed below:"
USA: ARRL Headquarters SuitSat QSL 225 Main Street Newington, CT 06111-1494 USA
Canada: Radio Amateurs of Canada SuitSat QSL 720 Belfast Road, Suite 217 Ottawa Ontario K1G 0Z5
Europe: F1MOJ - Mr CANDEBAT Christophe SuitSat Europe QSL Manager 7 Rue Roger Bernard 30470
AIMARGUES FRANCE
Japan: SuitSat Japan QSL JARL International Section Tokyo 170-8073 JAPAN
Russia: Alexander Davydov, RN3DK Novo - Mytishchinsky prospekt 52 - 111 Mytishchi 18, Moskovskaya obl.
141018, RUSSIA
Other countries, please use the US or Canadian address above.
"Students will get a certificate commemorating their reception. Those that receive the picture or copy the special
words will get a special endorsement on their certificate."
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