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Message-ID: <$sts-65.012.1994@ampr.org>
Date: Sun, 17 Jul 1994 02:14:11 -0600
From: ABFHB@STDVAX.GSFC.NASA.GOV (Frank H Bauer)
Subject: SAREX Update 7/17 at 7:30 UTC
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Xref: news.cs.tut.fi rec.radio.amateur.space:1873 rec.radio.info:5598

SB SAREX @ AMSAT $STS-65.012
SAREX Update 7//17 at 7:30 UTC

Greenbelt, MD July 17, 1994 at 7:30 UTC

SAREX Schools

The school group contacts with the Space Shuttle Columbia
crew are nearly complete.  Twelve of the thirteen schools
planned for this mission have had successful contacts.  The
Bair Middle School in Sunrise, Florida initiated the school
group contact parade on Saturday July 9.  22 students
communicated with mission commander Bob Cabana, KC5HBV.
Commander Cabana has been at the mike for most of the school
contacts for this flight.  He has told the students to
"Study hard, especially in science and math" and to "not
give up."  He stated further that: "I was not selected to be
an astronaut on my first try, but I kept trying and that is
why I am here today...so keep trying!."

In addition to the Bair School, Commander Cabana also
communicated with the Sacred Hearts Academy in Honolulu,
Hawaii on July 10, the Fronhofer Realschule in Ingolstadt,
Germany and the Richland Elementary in Ft. Worth Texas on
Monday July 11 and the Our Lady Queen of Heaven school on
Tuesday July 12.  KC5HBV was also at the mike during the
South Seminole Middle School contact in Casselberry Florida
and the Washington Elementary School District contact in
Phoenix, Arizona on Wednesday July 13.  On Wednesday July
14, Bob Cabana had a 3.5-4 minute chat with the students at
Brentwood School in Sandersville, Georgia and the students
at the West Oak High School in Westminster, South Carolina.
During the West Oak contact, AM radio station WGOG broadcast
the SAREX contact live.  It was estimated that 10,000 people
listened to this live broadcast.  On Saturday July 16, the
students at the Granite Mountain Middle School in Prescott,
Arizona had a very early morning (5:53 am) contact with
Commander Cabana.  13 students asked their questions during
their pass through a SAREX telebridge in Corpus Christi,
Texas.  On the morning of July 15, pilot Jim Halsell
answered 8 questions from an excited school group at the
West Monroe High School in West Monroe, Louisiana.  At the
conclusion of the contact, West Monroe contact coordinator
Mark Ketchell commented that as a result of the SAREX
contact it looks like there may be a new amateur radio club
forming at the school.  Many of the school group contacts,
including the West Monroe High School, have been transmitted
live via WA3NAN.

Japanese payload specialist Chiaki Mukai "Phoned Home"
through SAREX on Wednesday July 13 by talking to a youth
group in Japan.  Despite it being a 2:03 in the morning, ten
students at the Tatebayashi Children's Science Exploratorium
in Gunma, Japan communicated with Dr. Mukai through the
SAREX radio.  All that witnessed this contact could sense
the emotionally filled replies from Dr. Mukai as she
answered her homeland student's questions in Japanese.  When
one of the students asked about the shuttle food, Dr. Mukai
proudly mentioned that the STS-65 crew had a Japanese dinner
the night before.  The contact was shown throughout the
Exploratorium on closed circuit TV.  Sixty people, all
Japanese media, crowded in the room where the students made
contact with Dr. Mukai.  This contact was covered by all the
major Japanese television stations and several radio
stations and newspapers.  From all accounts, this contact
appears to be the most comprehensive coverage given to
SAREX.  The SAREX Working group will share more information
as we receive it.

Most of the above school groups were completed using AMSAT's
telebridge system.  The telebridge system is an
international network of seasoned satellite ground stations
that relay the communications of the astronauts from their
station to the school through a phone bridge.  Darome
Telecommunications in Chicago donates their services to SAREX
for these events.  Bob Douglas, W5GEL, and Bob Diersing, N5AHD,
in Texas and Dick Flagg, WH6CHU and his team in Hawaii were the
SAREX team's primary telebridge ground stations for this mission.

Future SAREX operations

With nearly all the school group contacts complete, two
school group backup passes have been cleared for possible
general QSO opportunities.  While we cannot guarantee
availability, there is a high probability that the STS-65
crew will have the SAREX radio (packet or voice) operational
over the continental U.S. on these passes.  These
opportunities include a pass on orbit 141 at MET 8 days 18
hours 45 minutes (7/17 at 11:28 UTC) and a pass that occurs
around MET 9 days 18 hours 48 minutes (7/18 at 11:31 UTC).
The SAREX downlink frequency is 145.55 MHz.  Voice uplinks
are 144.91, 144.93, 144.95, 144.97 and 144.99 (except
Europe).  For European hams, the voice uplinks are 144.80,
144.75 and 144.70.  STS-65 voice callsigns are KC5HBV (Bob
Cabana) and KC5FVF (Don Thomas).  The worldwide packet
uplink frequency is 144.49.  The packet radio callsign is
W5RRR-1.  Please note that the attitude of the shuttle
orbiter provides a clear path for SAREX operations during
the last half of the 8 minute period when the shuttle is
above your horizon.  Our school group contacts were
averaging 3.5-4 minute contacts.  So don't give up after the
first couple of minutes after the scheduled AOS.  Good
Luck!!

Submitted by Frank H. Bauer, KA3HDO for the SAREX Working Group

/EX