Re: [sarex] ARISS Operations

[Bruce Bostwick <lihan161051@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ah.  Forgot about that one.  ;-)

What I meant, though, is applying a somewhat different design 
philosophy to the onboard ARISS station that the crew has access to.  
The present configuration seems to be primarily a human-interaction 
based ham radio station that is incidentally a sat when left in the 
correct mode by the crew, who may or may not have time to come back and 
change settings if they're not left in the correct state.  What I'm 
suggesting, and some payload similar to PCSAT2 may well work as a part 
of this idea, is that the ARISS operation be treated as a sat which 
just happens to have user accessible controls -- make crew interaction 
entirely optional.  Agreed, talking to the crew is probably the 
ultimate ARISS experience, but while the crew is busy doing something 
else, it would be nice if the packet equipment could be managed from a 
ground control station to eliminate the questions of "what mode did 
they leave it in today?", etc.    That way, if something needs to be 
reset, or a bug in the TNC is making things crazy, you don't have to go 
through scheduling crew time with mission ops to get it fixed, you just 
ground command or reset/reload from a control station and the crew 
doesn't have to touch it or even know about it.

I mention a PCSAT2-like package because it may well be suitable to have 
an externally mounted RF package in that form factor, with crew 
interaction done from a "dumb" radio installation inboard that is 
simply another voice/packet station using the actual "sat" payload.  
 From the descriptions I've seen of PCSAT2, it would even be possible to 
keep two or three more or less identical payloads and upgrade/rotate 
them as time and launch/EVA availability allow.

But, basically, ARISS is a sat, it just happens to have people living 
next door to it .. that's the philosophy I think might work best from 
now on ..

On Friday, Feb 28, 2003, at 08:53 US/Central, Bob Bruninga wrote:

> On Fri, 28 Feb 2003, Bruce Bostwick wrote:
>
>>
>> One question I have been wanting to ask though:  Given that crew time
>> is going to be at a premium in any case, and in the wake of the
>> Columbia breakup will be even more so, has there been any progress
>> toward getting an ARISS station that can be operated entirely from
>> ground control stations if so required?
>
> That is exactly what PCSAT2 is:
>
> http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/pcsat2.html
>
> Was scheduled to fly in 5 months...
>
> de WB4APR, Bob
>
"Oh yeah? Well, I speak LOOOOOOOUD, and I carry a BEEEEEEEger stick -- 
and I use it too!"  **whop!**   -- Yosemite Sam

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