Next Ham Heading to Space Station after Historic Launch
/A radio amateur is one of two NASA astronauts who arrived on the International Space Station (ISS) on 31st May 2020 using a SpaceX rocket that marked the return of human spaceflight to US soil for the first time in almost a decade. The Saturday launch from Cape Kennedy also marked the first time humans travelled aloft via a commercial spacecraft.
Astronauts Bob Behnken, KE5GGX, and Doug Hurley had been set to go into space on 27 May 2020 before unfavourable weather scrubbed the flight 17 minutes before launch.
“Crew Dragon-Endeavour separated from Falcon 9’s second stage and went on to perform autonomous docking with the [ISS] at ~10:30 AM EDT on 31st May 2020.”
The so-called “Demo-2 Project” is the final major test for SpaceX’s human spaceflight system to be certified by NASA for operational crew missions to and from the ISS. Additional background and launch video from the Kennedy Space Center is available. The whole operation was covered on NASA TV via YouTube.
Frequencies in Use
The following frequencies are currently used for Amateur Radio ISS contacts (QSOs):
Voice and SSTV Downlink: 145.80 (Worldwide)
Voice Uplink: 144.49 for ITU Regions 2 and 3 (The Americas, and the Pacific and Southern Asia)
Voice Uplink: 145.20 for ITU Region 1 (Europe, Russia and Africa)
VHF Packet Uplink and Downlink: 145.825 (Worldwide)
UHF Packet Uplink and Downlink: 437.550
UHF/VHF Repeater Uplink: 145.99 (PL 67 Hz)
UHF/VHF Repeater Downlink: 437.80
