SpaceCam1 News Release July 5 2003
SpaceCam1 News Release July 5 2003
ISS Amateur Radio Status: July 5, 2003
SpaceCam1 Slow Scan TV project for ISS, Update
Houston SpaceCam1 Testing
By Miles Mann WF1F,
MAREX-MG News
Manned Amateur Radio Experiment
SpaceCam1 Slow Scan TV project for ISS, Update
The MAREX-MG/ARISS SpaceCam1 SSTV System is an entry-level PC based Slow Scan Television system designed to be used on board the International Space Station. The SpaceCam1 system will support multiple common SSTV transmission modes. SpaceCam1 has been specifically designed to be accessible to as many Amateur Radio stations as possible around the world. The original proof-of-concept system was built by the MAREX team and successfully flown on the Russian Space Station Mir (December 1998 until August 1999). The proof-of-concept system has proven the ability of the hardware design and it has taught us how to make additional improvements for the next generation SSTV system for ISS.
In January 2001 the SpaceCam1 project was accepted project by the ARISS team to be one of the future Amateur Radio projects for the International Space Station.
http://www.marexmg.org/spacecam/spacecam.html
The SpaceCam1 software has been under development since 1999 and is being created by the CPIX team managed by Jim Barber (N7CXI).
http://www.barberdsp.com/spmain.htm
Houston SpaceCam1 Testing June 2003:
In order for any project to be approved for Space flight operations it must be first safety certified. The certification process for any project going into the ISS is a very lengthy process.
Last week the MAREX team went to Houston to meet the ARISS review team along with representatives from NASA and RSA. This was the first time we had access to a selection of ISS computer and amateur radio equipment, similar to the equipment actually on ISS. One of the goals was to load the SpaceCam1 SSTV software on ground flight equipment and test all the equipment's ability to interoperate with the SpaceCam1 software. We were able to demonstrate that the SpaCam1 software worked well with the two different laptop computers currently in use on ISS. SpaceCam1 also worked very well with the two different amateur radio systems. The testing session also provided us with additional information on documenting the user manuals, since each computer/radio configuration is a little different. There is the possibilty that an additional End-to-end testing session may be required in Russia later this year.
The ARISS Hardware Manager Lou McFadin (W5DID) was assigned the task of building an Audio interface box for the SpaceCam1 project. The Audio interface box will allow the audio from a standard Laptop PC to be plugged into the existing Amateur Radio station on ISS. SpaceCam1 will then be able to control the ISS Ericsson Amateur Radio transceiver radio currently on board ISS and the future transceivers planed as follow on projects.
When will SpaceCam1 fly?
That's a good question. All of the flight schedules for 2003 and 2004 are being re-planned as we speak. SpaceCam1 is one of the Amateur Radio top projects for ARISS this year, however we do not have a specific launch vehicle slot at this time. The ARISS team is still looking towards a late 2003 flight or early 2004. We will just have to wait and see.
Aside from the flight, we now have all of the parts we need to submit the flight manifest requests to NASA, except the final testing in Russia.
Software SpaceCam1, completed
Adapter Audio Interface box, completed
Computer A5 or P6300
Radios Ericsson Transceivers, currently on ISS
Antennas 4 new antenna systems installed on ISS in 2002
All work and no Play:
While we were in Houston, we did have a little fun. ARISS and the W5RRR club treated us to a nice cookout and tour of the club station. And later we had the opportunity to meet and talk with 4 different astronauts/cosmonauts (Expedition Six Commander Ken Bowersox, Science Officer Don Pettit, Mir/Shuttle astronaut Mike Foale and Mir Cosmonaut Alexander Polyshuk). The biggest thrill was when Shuttle/Mir astronaut Mike Foale joined us for a lunch and a friendly chat. Mike and I had never met, however we talked about a hundred times by Amateur Radio during his Mir mission in 1997 (see the Book Mir Space Station Gateway to the stars). It was great to finally meet him face to face.
SpaceCam1 FAQ:
Will I be able to receive images from SpaceCam1?
Yes! SpaceCam1 will transmit and receive images on amateur radio frequencies, using standard SSTV formats. Although SpaceCam1 is capable of operating in several modes, the standard format will be Robot 36. This format offers the best standard compromise between image quality and transmission time.
In addition to two-way "interactive" operation, SpaceCam1 provides the following fully automatic functions:
· Transmission from a live camera or disk at specified intervals
· "Slide Show" operation from a set of images stored on the system
· SSTV Repeater
What equipment will I need to receive the images?
http://www.marexmg.org/fileshtml/sstvlinkpage.html
Radio receiver with an outdoor antenna. The radio receive will need to be able to receive FM signals in the 435.000 - 438.000 MHz radio band.
A PC with SSTV software or a dedicated SSTV scan converter.
Tracking software (optional, although it helps a lot!)
URL Update:
In April 2003 the old MAREX URL was hijacked and lost forever.
Please do not use the old MAREX URL.
The good news is that MAREX is now MAREXMG INC. And we have a new URL.
Our name has changed, however our goals are still the same, to help keep Amateur Radio Satellite operations affordable.
http://www.marexmg.org/
Good by MAREX, hello MAREXMG
Take care all and good luck and please be courteous.
73 Miles WF1F MAREX-MG
Until we meet again
DOSVIDANIYA Miles WF1F
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