ARLA/CLUSTER: Latest ARISSat-1 activation news from AMSAT

[João Gonçalves Costa]

Latest ARISSat-1 activation news

The AMSAT News Service has received the latest information regarding the planned activation of ARISSat-1 aboard the ISS which has been awaited by the amateur radio community all day Monday.

ARISSat-1 Project Manager, Gould Smith, WA5SXM reported that aboard the ISS, "Cosmonaut Dmitri performed hardware setup and test activation of the 'KEDR' microsatellite aboard the Russian segment of the ISS by connecting the satellite to an Orlan battery and checking out its transmitter from the satellite control panel."

A status report received via NASA assures the amateur radio community that, "KEDR (ARISSat-1) will be activated onboard the station on April 12 to celebrate Cosmonautics Day, when the world celebrates the anniversaries of the first human flight into space and the first Space Shuttle flight."

The crew aboard the ISS operates on UTC time and sleeps from 2130Z to 0600Z. The ARISSat-1 team is awaiting the next crew activity to commence after 0600Z on April 12.

Depending on which press release information you find on-line the names ARISSat-1, RadioSkaf-V, RadioSkaf-B, KEDR are all names for  the same satellite.

Once activated on April 12, the 145.950 MHz FM downlink will transmit messages a continuous sequence, one of which is the  Gagarin-to-ground station conversation, famous "Poyekhali"  (Let's Go!) from Yuri Gagarin from Earth orbit. This downlink frequency will also transmit spoken telemetry, SSTV images, and pre-recorded messages of goodwill.

ARISSat-1 also bears the name KEDR in honor of the call sign of Yuri Gagarin during his historic space flight. According to the Russian Space Agency, KEDR is the first phase in Russia's integrated program approved by UNESCO, with the goal to create and operate mini-satellites with a mass less than 100 kg by the combined efforts of students across the world.

KEDR (ARRIsat-1) currently contains a student experiment designed by the Russian Kursk State University. AMSAT has built three additional ARISSat-1 spaceframes which are available for future flights to continue with the goal of flying student space experiments. Each ARISSat spaceframe has the capability to support five experimental packages in addition to its amateur radio payload. The BPSK-1000 telemetry beacon on 145.920 MHz will provide a forward error corrected downlink capable of reliable reception of data in low signal level conditions.

Thanks to Amsat and the ARISSat-1 team for the above information
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