On Saturday, May 31, the space shuttle Discovery launched into the heavens carrying a crew of one Japanese and six American astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS); of the seven crew members, two are Amateur Radio operators. NASA's Greg Chamitoff, KD5PKZ, is the ISS Flight Engineer and Science Officer on Expedition 17 and will spend six months living and working onboard the ISS, returning home on Endeavour (STS-126), currently targeted for November 10. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Akihiko Hoshide, KE5DNI, is a mission specialist.

Chamitoff will replace Garrett Reisman, KE5HAE, who arrived on the ISS in March; Reisman will return to Earth when Discovery leaves the ISS. It is expected that the ISS Crew -- Commander Sergei Volkov, RU3DIS; Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko, RN3DX, and Chamitoff -- will conduct Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contacts while on the ISS.

This mission, STS-124 -- the 123rd space shuttle flight and 26th shuttle flight to the ISS -- docked with the ISS at 2:03 PM (EDT) on Monday, June 2. Discovery carries with it the second component of JAXA's Kibo laboratory, the Japanese Pressurized Module (JPM). The 37 foot, 32,000 pound JPM will be attached to the left side of the Harmony connecting node by shuttle and station crew members during a series of three spacewalks. The JPM will join the first component of Kibo, the Japanese Logistics Module, which was launched on the last shuttle flight, STS-123 on Endeavour, in March.

Kibo (which means hope in Japanese) is so heavy that only its primary set of avionics systems can be launched inside it. The second set was launched in the logistics module delivered on STS-123 so that it will be available, if needed, when Kibo is activated. "Kibo is just a beautiful piece of work," said lead shuttle flight director Matt Abbott. "I know the Japanese space agency had an element installed on STS-123, but this is really their pride and joy. This module is amazing."

"It's going to be a world-class laboratory," said astronaut Mark Kelly, Discovery's commander. "It's its own little spacecraft, in the sense that it has an environmental system, electrical system, its own computer system, its own robotic arm. It's got a lot of capability, and I'm hopeful that over the years that the laboratory produces significant discoveries in the fields of chemistry, physics, material science and life sciences. It certainly has that potential." The Kibo laboratory complex includes two robotic arms that also will be delivered on Discovery. A third and final shuttle mission to complete the complex will launch an exterior platform for the Kibo laboratory complex that will allow experiments to be exposed to space.

On Earth, STS-124 will mark the first time the JAXA flight control team will activate and control a module from Kibo Mission Control in Tsukuba, Japan. JAXA is scheduled to take over final activation of Kibo on the fifth day of STS-124, the day after the module is installed. "That's a big day for Japan," Hoshide said. "We'll be doing vestibule outfitting, which is basically hooking up all the jumper connections between Node 2 and the pressurized module for power signals, data cables, fluid lines, all that stuff. Once that's done we will be activating the main computer in the pressurized module from our laptop computer inside the station - we call that the initial activation. "Then, once the computer's activated, the Mission Control Center in Tsukuba Space Center can start commanding, so we'll hand it over to them. They will start doing the final activation of the module."

In addition to Kelly, Hoshide and Chamitoff, the STS-124 crew consists of Pilot Ken Ham and Mission Specialists Karen Nyberg, Ron Garan and Mike Fossum. Discovery is due back to Earth on Saturday, June 14 at 10:45 AM (EDT) at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. -- Information provided by NASA

SB SPACE @ ARL $ARLS006
ARLS006 New Russian Satellite in Orbit

ZCZC AS06
QST de W1AW
Space Bulletin 006 ARLS006
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington, CT May 29, 2008
To all radio amateurs

SB SPACE ARL ARLS006
ARLS006 New Russian Satellite in Orbit

A Russian rocket launched from Plesetsk on May 23 carried a number of payloads to orbit, including a new Amateur Radio satellite named Yubileiny -- Russian for jubilee -- since christened Radio Sputnik 30 (RS-30).

Operational details are vague at this time. Amateurs throughout the world report receiving signals at 435.315 and 435.215 MHz; some report reception of CW telemetry while others report what appear to be image transmissions from the satellite. RS-30 is orbiting at a maximum altitude of 1500 km, creating a substantial communications footprint below.

The satellite will broadcast audio and video about the history of the Soviet and Russian space programs, as well as signals imitating those broadcast by Sputnik in 1957.

According to the satellite's launch team, "The motive for development of the Yubileiny small spacecraft was the 50th anniversary of the first space satellite. With the help of that satellite, the new space systems and equipment are expected to get flight qualification, and radio-amateurs all over the world will be able to receive information on the history of space development and domestic cosmonautics achievements."

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SB SPACE @ ARL $ARLS005
ARLS005 New Amateur Radio Satellite Receives OSCAR Designation

ZCZC AS05
QST de W1AW
Space Bulletin 005 ARLS005
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington, CT May 22, 2008
To all radio amateurs

SB SPACE ARL ARLS005
ARLS005 New Amateur Radio Satellite Receives OSCAR Designation

Earlier this week, Bill Tynan, W3XO, announced that Amateur Radio satellite Delfi C-3 has been issued an OSCAR number: Delfi-C3 OSCAR-64 or Dutch OSCAR-64. The shortened version of either of these two designations is DO-64.

Delfi C-3 was successfully launched April, 28, 2008 from India aboard a Polar launch vehicle and was successfully commissioned, currently transmitting telemetry on the 2 meter amateur band. In addition to its 2 meter downlink, Delfi C-3 has an uplink on the 70 cm band.

This newest amateur satellite was developed by a team of some 60 students and facility members from various polytechnic schools in The Netherlands.

Delfi C-3 carries two experiments: one involving thin film solar cells developed by Dutch Space, and an autonomous wireless Sun sensor from the Dutch Government Research Institute (TNO).

According to Delfi C-3 Project Manager Wolter Jan Ubbels, Delfi C-3 has been duly coordinated through Region 1 IARU representative Graham Shirville, G3VZV, and that the satellite "meets all of the criteria necessary to be issued an OSCAR number."

"AMSAT-NA is pleased to welcome DO-64 into the family of Amateur Radio satellites," Tynan said. "We are hopeful that it will fulfill its intended mission of furthering education and increasing interest in the Amateur Radio space program. We congratulate all of those responsible for designing, building, testing and launching this new Amateur Radio satellite and look forward to its long and productive life."

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