02/12/2016
The "Ham TV[1]" digital Amateur Radio television system onboard the
International Space Station was used for the first time ever this week for an
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS[2]) school contact. UK
and ESA Astronaut Tim Peake, KG5BVI, inaugurated the system as he spoke on
February 11 with students at a school in Rickmansworth, England. The DATV
system in the Columbus module of the ISS allowed students at Royal Masonic
School, home of GB1RSM, to see as well as listen, as Peake, operating as GB1SS,
answered their questions about life in space. The one-way DATV downlink took
place near 2.4 GHz, while the two-way FM audio component was maintained on 2
meters.
"It was a historic event," enthused Past ARISS-EU Chair Gaston Bertels, ON4WF,
who helped shepherd the DATV system into existence after it was first proposed
more than 15 years ago. "The radio contact was enhanced with video! Tim Peake
activated the Ham Video transmitter on board Columbus." The IK1SLD ground
station received the Ham TV signal.
As students at the all-girls school looked on, Peake's image appeared on a
large viewing screen before a fully packed auditorium. The contact took place
on the UN International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Peake's Principia
Mission[3] has been aimed at engaging students on Earth in science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects.
Seven-year-old Isabella asked Peake what space travel will look like when she
is Peake's age. "I think it's going to be really exciting then," Peake
responded, predicting that 35 years from now there will be people on Mars, a
colony on the moon, and shorter transit times in space. Responding to the other
students' questions, Peake said that his leg muscles seem to be the ones most
affected by his time on the space station. He explained that the ISS crew
manufacture their own oxygen through electrolysis of water.
The Ham TV video system was commissioned during a number of live tests in 2014,
but it had never been used for an ARISS school contact before this week.
"Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) President John Gould, G3WKL, remarked,
"Tonight was a truly historic moment, not only for the school having their
contact with Tim, but, for the first time ever a school received amateur
television from the ISS. I hope this event gives all the students at the
school, and everyone watching, a sense of inspiration in terms of STEM
subjects, which have been brought so vividly to light in a fun way through
Amateur Radio."
Said ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, "Congratulations to the Ham
TV Team! This day has been long coming. My thanks to all who made this first
operational contact happen."
[1] http://www.ariss-eu.org/columbus/ham-video
[2] http://www.ariss.org/
[3] https://principia.ariss.org/
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