Bird? Plane? No! It's SuitSat!

[Kirk]

Check out this ScienceBuzz link.
http://ltc.smm.org/buzz/taxonomy/term/10/1
More info here.
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudent ... Space.html

NASA is putting a spacesuit into orbit and you can tune in and listen to the spacesuit tell you about how it is holding up in orbit. They claim you can pick up the signal with something as simple as a police scanner provided you are outside.

~Kirk

[Buzzygirl]

Here is a link to the J Pass program, which will predict when the Suit Sat will pass over your area:

http://science.nasa.gov/Programs/Pagebu ... de=0&B1=Go

Just put in your zip code, and you will get predicted passes for your area.

You don't need anything more than minimal equipment to listen-- any old police scanner should do, and any handheld 2 meter amateur radio transceiver will also do the trick.

[Chris White]

I published a shoutcast audiofeed for those without radio's but, might want to listen, currently it's monitoring for AmSat passes of AO-51 (Echo), on Friday I will switch it over to suitsat.

Details can be found here;

http://www.jakeblaster.com/suitsat

and the feed is here;

http://suitsat.audio-stream.com/

If all goes well, I might redo it as 'Spacecam1' when the ISS starts broadcasting pictures via SSTV later this year. Or, I will just publish the pictures on the website, and maybe have the ISS voice downlink on shoutcast.

[Chautauqua]

Empty Suits in High Places. It has ever been thus.....

[youngsww]

Empty Suits in High Places. It has ever been thus.....

So will this pick up President Bush and VP Cheney??

[Chautauqua]

Now, now, I specifically did not mention any names! Empty suits have been around pretty much since the invention of, well, suits.

[Chris White]

It appears that suitsat died after two orbits.

The video of the suit being shot off of the ISS was priceless.

[benhuset]

Suitsat is still alive. Very weak but alive.
You need a yagi with a preamp to hear it but you can hear it.

ISS is rebroadcasting it on 437.80MHz which you can pick up with just a handheld radio/rubber duck antenna.

ISS is trailing a few miles behind and above suitsat.

--Ben
KA0PSQ

According to AMSAT

http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/index.php




...Based on what we have learned, we would like to provide the following guidelines to save you time and facilitate gathering information:

1) You need as high a gain antenna as possible with mast mounted pre-amps. An arrow is the minimal set...it provides very brief snipets of the communications. HTs and scanners won't cut it.

2) I would not waste your time on passes below 40 degrees elevation. SuitSat is too far from your station to receive a reliable signal. We have found that closest approach provides several seconds of SuitSat communication with 22 element yagis.

3) The "gold" we are looking for right now is the telemetry information and how long the vehicle stays operational. So if you hear any of the telemetry, please let us know...