Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment

Last updated

The Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX), later called the Space Amateur Radio Experiment, was a program that promoted and supported the use of amateur ("ham") radio by astronauts in low earth orbit aboard the United States Space Shuttle to communicate with other amateur radio stations around the world. It was superseded by the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program. SAREX was sponsored by NASA, AMSAT (The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation), and the ARRL (American Radio Relay League). [1]

Contents

History

Shortly after the launch of STS-9, On November 28, 1983 Owen Garriott (W5LFL) became the first amateur radio operator active in space. Garriott had already flown on Skylab 3, but did not operate radio equipment on that trip. On STS-9, he used a handheld 2-meter radio, provided by the Motorola Amateur Radio Club in Fort Lauderdale, to talk to his mother, senator Barry Goldwater (K7UGA), King Hussein of Jordan (JY1), and many others. Garriott made approximately 300 calls and convinced NASA that amateur radio was useful to get students involved in space. Thus began the Space Amateur Radio Experiment, also known as SAREX. [2] [3]

The second successful use of amateur radio in space was carried out by Anthony W. England (W0ORE) on Challenger flight STS-51F in 1985. He completed 130 contacts and sent 10 images via slow-scan television. In 1991, STS-37 became the first voyage to space on which the entire crew were licensed amateur radio operators. [4]

After these flights, amateur radios were often taken on the shuttles, as many as twenty-five before the program became known as ARISS. Licensed hams were able to participate during their free time. [5]

Shuttles that Participated and Licensed Astronauts[ needs update ]
MissionYearLicensed Astronauts
STS-9 1983 Owen Garriott (W5LFL)
STS-51F 1985 Anthony W. England (WØORE)
STS-35 1990 Ron Parise (WA4SIR)
STS-37 1991 Kenneth D. Cameron (KB5AWP), Steven Nagel (N5RAW), Linda Godwin (N5RAX), Jay Apt (N5QWL), Jerry L. Ross (formerly KB5OHL)
STS-45 1992 Dave Leestma (N5WQC), Kathy Sullivan (N5YVV), Brian Duffy (N5WQW), Dirk Frimout (ON1AFD)
STS-47 1992 Jay Apt (N5QWL), Mamoru Mohri (7L2NJY)
STS-50 1992Unknown
STS-55 1993 Jerry L. Ross (N5SCW)
STS-56 1993 Kenneth D. Cameron (KB5AWP), Mike Foale (KB5UAC), Ellen Ochoa (KB5TZZ), Kenneth Cockrell (KB5UAH)
STS-57 1993 Brian Duffy (N5WQW), Janice Voss (KC5BTK)
STS-58 1993 Richard Searfoss (KC5CKM), William S. McArthur, Jr. (KC5ACR), Martin J. Fettman (KC5AXA)
STS-59 1994 Linda Godwin (N5RAX), Jay Apt (N4QWL)
STS-60 1994 Charles Bolden (formerly KE4IQB), Ronald Sega (KC5ETH), Sergei Krikalev (U5MIR)
STS-64 1994 Richard N. Richards (KB5SIW), Blaine Hammond, Jr. (KC5HBS), Jerry Linenger (KC5HBR)
STS-65 1994 Donald A. Thomas (KC5FVF), Robert D. Cabana (KC5HBV)
STS-67 1995 Stephen S. Oswald (KB5YSR), William G. Gregory (KC5MGA), Tamara E. Jernigan (KC5MGF), Wendy B. Lawrence (KC5KII), Samuel T. Durrance (N3TQA)
STS-70 1995 Donald A. Thomas (KC5FVF)
STS-71 1995 Richard Searfoss (KC5CKM), Linda Godwin (N5RAX), Ronald Sega (KC4ETH), Shannon Lucid (R0MIR)
STS-74 1995 Kenneth D. Cameron (KB5AWP), Jerry L. Ross (N5SCW), William S. McArthur (KC5ACR), Chris Hadfield (VA3OOG), James Halsell (KC5RNI)
STS-76 1996 Richard Searfoss (KC5CKM), Linda Godwin (N5RAX), Ronald Sega (KC5ETH), Shannon Lucid (R0MIR)
STS-78 1996 Charles Brady (N4BQW), Susan Helms (KC7NHZ)
STS-79 1996 Jay Apt (N5QWL), John Blaha (KC5TZQ), Carl Walz (KC5TIE)
STS-83 1997 James Halsell (KC5RNI), Janice Voss (KC5BTK), Donald A. Thomas (KC5FVF)
STS-94 1998 James Halsell (KC5RNI), Janice Voss (KC5BTK), Donald A. Thomas (KC5FVF)
STS-93 1999 Eileen Collins (KD5EDS), Cady Coleman (KC5ZTH), Michel Tognini (KD5EJZ)

Educational uses

Most amateur radio operators used SAREX to speak with licensed astronauts during their down times. SAREX, however, has been very educational for young students from kindergarten to fifth grade involved in a program similar to young astronauts, in which elementary school children learn about astronauts' daily activities and what it is like in space. Students also have had the opportunity to communicate via video when the shuttles have had suitable equipment. Teachers have found out about how to link their classes with the SAREX program through the Amateur Radio in Space Guide distributed by NASA. [6]

Licensing

An amateur operator license is needed before operating an amateur station. [7] The license can be obtained from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Amateur Radio Service. [8] No special SAREX license is required for operation, but certain regulations come into play for space communications. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">STS-9</span> 1983 American crewed spaceflight and first flight with Spacelab

STS-9 was the ninth NASA Space Shuttle mission and the sixth mission of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Launched on 28 November 1983, the ten-day mission carried the first Spacelab laboratory module into orbit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amateur Radio on the International Space Station</span>

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS), operating in the Amateur-satellite service, is a project sponsored by various entities and carried out by astronauts and cosmonauts on the International Space Station who also have an amateur radio license.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Morgan</span> American teacher and former astronaut

Barbara Radding Morgan is an American teacher and a former NASA astronaut. She participated in the Teacher in Space program as backup to Christa McAuliffe for the 1986 ill-fated STS-51-L mission of the Space Shuttle Challenger. She then trained as a Mission Specialist, and flew on STS-118 in August 2007. She is the first teacher to have been to space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">STS-93</span> 1999 American crewed spaceflight to deploy the Chandra X-ray Observatory

STS-93 in 1999 marked the 95th launch of the Space Shuttle, the 26th launch of Columbia, and the 21st night launch of a Space Shuttle. Eileen Collins became the first female shuttle Commander on this flight. Its primary payload was the Chandra X-ray Observatory. It would also be the last mission of Columbia until March 2002. During the interim, Columbia would be out of service for upgrading, and would not fly again until STS-109. The launch was originally scheduled for 20 July but the launch was aborted at T−7 seconds. The successful launch of the flight occurred 3 days later. The payload was also the heaviest payload ever carried by the Space Shuttle system, at over 22.7 tonnes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel C. Burbank</span> American astronaut and a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions

Daniel Christopher Burbank is a retired American astronaut and a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions. Burbank, a Captain in the United States Coast Guard, is the second Coast Guard astronaut after Bruce Melnick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">STS-35</span> 1990 American crewed spaceflight

STS-35 was the tenth flight of Space Shuttle Columbia, the 38th shuttle flight, and a mission devoted to astronomical observations with ASTRO-1, a Spacelab observatory consisting of four telescopes. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on December 2, 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">STS-37</span> 1991 American crewed spaceflight to deploy the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory

STS-37, the thirty-ninth NASA Space Shuttle mission and the eighth flight of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, was a six-day mission with the primary objective of launching the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO), the second of the Great Observatories program which included the visible-spectrum Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) and the infrared Spitzer Space Telescope. The mission also featured two spacewalks, the first since 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">STS-56</span> 1993 American crewed spaceflight

STS-56 was a NASA Space Shuttle Discovery mission to perform special experiments. The mission was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 8 April 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">STS-55</span> 1993 American crewed spaceflight

STS-55, or Deutschland 2 (D-2), was the 55th overall flight of the NASA Space Shuttle and the 14th flight of Shuttle Columbia. This flight was a multinational Spacelab flight involving 88 experiments from eleven different nations. The experiments ranged from biology sciences to simple Earth observations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">STS-64</span> 1994 American crewed spaceflight

STS-64 was a Space Shuttle Discovery mission that was set to perform multiple experiment packages. STS-64 was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 9 September 1994, and landed back on 20 September 1994 at Edwards Air Force Base.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">STS-71</span> 1995 American crewed spaceflight to Mir

STS-71 was the third mission of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program and the first Space Shuttle docking to Russian space station Mir. It started on June 27, 1995, with the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis from launchpad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Shuttle delivered a relief crew of two cosmonauts Anatoly Solovyev and Nikolai Budarin to the station and recovered Increment astronaut Norman Thagard. Atlantis returned to Earth on July 7 with a crew of eight. It was the first of seven straight missions to Mir flown by Atlantis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">STS-76</span> 1996 American crewed spaceflight to Mir

STS-76 was NASA's 76th Space Shuttle mission, and the 16th mission for Atlantis. STS-76 launched on 22 March 1996 at 08:13:04 UTC from Kennedy Space Center, launch pad 39B. STS-76 lasted over 9 days, traveled about 6,100,000 km (3,800,000 mi) while orbiting Earth an estimated 145 times, and landing at 13:28:57 UTC on 31 March 1996 at Edwards Air Force Base, runway 22.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Owen Garriott</span> American electrical engineer and astronaut (1930–2019)

Owen Kay Garriott was an American electrical engineer and NASA astronaut, who spent 60 days aboard the Skylab space station in 1973 during the Skylab 3 mission, and 10 days aboard Spacelab-1 on a Space Shuttle mission in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles E. Brady Jr.</span> American astronaut

Charles Eldon Brady Jr. was an American physician, a captain in the United States Navy and a NASA astronaut. He spent 16 days in space on the Space Shuttle's STS-78 flight in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles J. Precourt</span> American astronaut

Charles Joseph Precourt is a retired NASA astronaut. His career in flight began at an early age, and spans his entire lifetime. He served in the US Air Force, piloted numerous jet aircraft, and piloted and commanded the Space Shuttle. Notably, he piloted or commanded several missions which involved docking with the Russian Mir space station and was heavily involved in Russian/US Space relations as well as the International Space Station collaboration. He also served as Chief of the Astronaut Office from 1998 to 2002. He retired from the USAF with the rank of colonel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald Parise</span>

Ronald Anthony Parise was an Italian American scientist who flew aboard two NASA Space Shuttle missions as a payload specialist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amateur radio station</span> Amateur radio station

An amateur radio station is a radio station designed to provide radiocommunications in the amateur radio service for an amateur radio operator. Radio amateurs build and operate several types of amateur radio stations, including fixed ground stations, mobile stations, space stations, and temporary field stations. A slang term often used for an amateur station's location is the shack, named after the small enclosures added to the upperworks of naval ships to hold early radio equipment and batteries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clayton Anderson</span> Retired NASA astronaut and member of the ISS Expedition 15 crew

Clayton Conrad Anderson is a retired NASA astronaut. Launched on STS-117, he replaced Sunita Williams on June 10, 2007 as a member of the ISS Expedition 15 crew. He is currently an author, a motivational speaker, and a Professor of Practice at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. In 2022 he became the president and CEO of the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Cassidy</span> Retired NASA astronaut

Christopher John "Chris" Cassidy is a retired NASA astronaut and United States Navy SEAL. Chris Cassidy achieved the rank of captain in the U.S. Navy. His first spaceflight was on a Space Shuttle mission in 2009. He was the Chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA from July 2015 until June 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amateur radio</span> Use of radio frequency spectra for non-commercial purposes

Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communications. The term "amateur" is used to specify "a duly authorised person interested in radioelectric practice with a purely personal aim and without pecuniary interest;" and to differentiate it from commercial broadcasting, public safety, or professional two-way radio services.

References

  1. Kelley, Mark. "Radio in Space: In the Beginning There Was SAREX". DXCOFFEE.
  2. Kelley, Mark. "Radio in Space: In the Beginning There Was SAREX". DXCOFFEE.
  3. Netting, Ruth. "Ham Radios in Space". NASA. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  4. "SAREX". Space Today Online. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  5. Petty, John. "International Space Station Reference". NASA. Archived from the original on 27 January 2001. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  6. "Amateur Radio in Space-- A Teachers Guide with Activities in Science, Mathematics, and Technology" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  7. "SAREX Field Operations Guide, Draft Version 2.1a: Technical and Engineering Reference: FCC Rules and Regulations". January 28, 1999.
  8. "Amateur Radio Service: Licensing". Federal Communications Commission: Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  9. "SAREX Field Operations Guide, Draft Version 2.1a: Technical and Engineering Reference: FCC Rules and Regulations". January 28, 1999.