08/15/2022

ARISS, Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, announced that
simultaneous operations of the ARISS Voice Repeater and digital APRS
communications on the Space Station is now a reality.  Current ARISS operations
include voice repeater transmissions with the JVC Kenwood D710GA in the
Columbus module and APRS packet operation from an identical radio in the
Service Module (Zvezda).  Packet operations are on 145.825 MHz.

The ARISS Russia and USA teams have been working for several weeks to prepare
the Service Module radio for APRS operations. ARISS Russia team member Sergey
Samburov, RV3DR, led the effort, working with Russian mission controllers and
the on-board ISS cosmonauts to configure the Service Module radio for APRS ops.
On August 11, final checkouts were completed and the APRS packet mode was
switched on for amateur radio use.

ARISS-International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, said, "Simultaneous operation of
APRS and the voice repeater on ISS is transformative for ARISS and represents a
key element of our ARISS 2.0 initiative, providing interactive capabilities
24/7 that inspire, engage and educate youth and lifelong learners-especially
life-long learning in ham radio operations. ... Our heartfelt thanks to Sergey
Samburov, RV3DR, for making this crucial ARISS 2.0 initiative become a
reality."

The Columbus Module radio uses the call sign NA1SS and the new Service Module
radio uses RS0ISS. Aside from the call signs, the radios are identical and
packet operations are the same as before. Hams can use RS0ISS, ARISS, or APRSAT
as the packet path. Also, both radios are expected to be on full time, except
during educational contacts, EVAs, and dockings or undockings.

You can find operational status and expected downtimes of the ISS radios
at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations[1].

About ARISS:

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative
venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that
support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors
are ARRL[2]  The National Association for Amateur Radio¿, the Radio Amateur
Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers,
Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC), and NASA's Space communications
and Navigation program. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of
science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics. ARISS does
this by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members
aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students,
educators, parents, and communities take part in hands-on learning activities
tied to space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see
www.ariss.org[3].

-- Thanks to ARISS for the information in this news release.

[1] https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations
[2] http://www.arrl.org/
[3] http://www.ariss.org

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