Columbus Laboratory Credits: ESA / D.Ducros

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NASA briefings to preview STS-122 Columbus mission

NASA has announced they will be holding a daylong series of media briefings about the next shuttle mission STS-122 on Nov 9. This will carry the Columbus module to the Space Station.

Fitted to Columbus are two antennas for the 1.26 GHz and 2.4 GHz Amateur Satellite allocations.

Columbus will house an additional Amateur Radio station, including the first digital Amateur Radio TV (DATV) station in space, as well as an Amateur Radio transponder.

The yet-to-be-built Columbus amateur gear will facilitate operation on new frequencies that will make it possible for ARISS to establish wideband and video operations for the first time and allow continuous transponder operation. Video from the installation and inspection is available at the Columbus Web site.

At the ARISS International conference last year in San Francisco, Graham Shirville, G3VZV, speaking on behalf of ARISS-Europe, outlined plans for a mode L/S ham radio transponder as well as a DATV downlink on S1 band (2.4 GHz). "So, future ARISS contacts could have pictures as well as sound," Shirville told the delegates. ARISS-Europe is looking at a 10 W transmitter and a signal bandwidth of from 4 to 8 MHz. Since the Columbus module will be some distance from the other two ARISS stations, parallel operation will be possible.

Funding to finish and install ham radio antennas on the European Space Agency (ESA)-built laboratory module has been uncertain, however. ARISS Vice Chairman Gaston Bertels, ON4WF, says donations from various sources covered a payment of 9000 Euros (approximately $12,000) in March. A second payment is due this fall. Donations already have come in from the ARRL Foundation, AMSAT-NA and AMSAT-UK, RSGB, IRTS, among other organizations, as well as from many individual donors. According to Bertels, there is still a funding shortfall of 15,000 Euros (approximately $21,000 USD).

To help out, PayPal donations are being accepted.
Donations page - http://www.ariss-eu.org/columbus.htm

From: http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/oct/HQ_M07141_STS-122_preflight.html
HOUSTON - NASA will discuss the next space shuttle mission during a daylong series of media briefings from the Johnson Space Center beginning at 8 a.m. CST Friday, Nov. 9. Space shuttle Atlantis' 11-day mission, designated STS-122, is targeted for launch Dec 6. The mission will deliver the European Space Agency's Columbus Laboratory to the International Space Station.

The schedule of briefings is (all times Central):

8 a.m. -- Space Shuttle and Space Station Program Overview
9 a.m. -- International Space Station Briefing to preview Expedition 16 spacewalks
10 a.m. -- STS-122 Mission Overview
11:30 a.m. -- NASA TV Video File
12 p.m. -- STS-122 Spacewalk Overview
1 p.m. -- STS-122 Crew News Conference
2 p.m. -- Crew Round-Robin Interviews
5 p.m. -- Hans Schlegel News Conference for German media

Media planning to attend or participate in the briefings or round-robin interviews must contact the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111, by 5 p.m. on Nov. 7. Questions will be taken from participating NASA locations. Non-U.S. media planning to attend the briefings, regardless of citizenship, need to request credentials from Johnson by Friday, Oct. 26.

All briefings, except the round-robin crew interviews, will be broadcast live on NASA Television and the Web at:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

Steve Frick will command the seven-member crew, which includes Pilot Alan Poindexter, mission specialists Rex Walheim, Stanley Love, Leland Melvin and European Space Agency astronauts Hans Schlegel and Leopold Eyharts.
Eyharts will replace Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel Tani and remain aboard the station as a member of the Expedition 16 crew. Tani will return to Earth with the STS-122 crew.

For the latest information about the STS-122 mission and its crew, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

Videos of ISS Columbus Amateur Radio Antennas
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/october2007/
columbus_videos.htm