Now is the time to begin preparing your amateur radio station to receive signals from SuitSat, the most unusual Amateur Radio satellite ever orbited. SuitSat amateur radio equipment will be installed inside a surplus Russian Orlan spacesuit. It will become an independently orbiting satellite once it is deployed by the crew of the International Space Station during an extravehicular activity, tentatively planned around December 8, 2005.
Running only on internal batteries within the spacesuit, SuitSat will have a limited, but interesting lifetime beaming down special messages and an SSTV image as it floats in space. Having no external thrust to adjust its orbit after it is hand-deployed during the EVA, SuitSat will be in a free-floating, but decaying orbit around Earth. It is expected to remain in orbit up to 6 weeks after being deployed.
The image on the left shows SuitSat in it's flight configuration. You can see the electronics control panel on the top of the helmet along with the SuitSat antenna. A new handle has been added around the midsection of the suit (black stripes). The handle is an important addition that will allow the astro/cosmonaut launching the suit to move it safely. [Photo credit to Steve Bible N7HPR - Thanks Steve!]
SuitSat's transmissions will include special international voice messages, spacesuit telemetry, and a pre-programmed SSTV picture on its 145.990 MHz FM downlink. If you have already received the packet station or heard the ISS crew on 2-meter voice, then you already have most of what you need. Amateur radio signals from the ISS can be received with a 2 meter vertical antenna so an elaborate tracking system is not necessary. The SSTV signal can be decoded with personal computer SSTV software after you connect your computer to the speaker output of your radio.
See the complete article including additional SuitSat photographs at:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/articles/SuitSat/
Also see the article "This Is SuitSat-1 RS0RS" by Frank Bauer,KA3HDO at:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/articles ... /index.php