[amsat-bb] New Ham antenna to be installed on the ISS Columbus module tomorrow

[Louis McFadin]

There hasn't been much said on the various news outlets about the  
second ISS EVA tomorrow morning at 07:30 AM EST 12:30 UTC. During that  
EVA the first task is to install two antennas on the Columbus Module.
One is for an experiment for the European Space Agency and the other  
is a dual band 2m/70CM antenna for ARISS (Amateur Radio on ISS) very  
similar to the antennas already on the Russian service module.
If you have any way to watch, I am sure it will be exciting for any  
ham to watch.
This is an example of what can be achieved by volunteer hams working  
closely with a space agency.
This antenna project was funded entirely by AMSAT-NA and volunteers  
who built the antennas for both the experiment and for ARISS.
That's not to take away from the tremendous contribution from ESA for  
the experiment, the launch and the EVA. I have no idea what that cost  
but you can be assured it was a lot more than the cost of the antennas.

Once the antennas are in place we will be working to bring amateur  
radio to the Columbus module.

I am very proud of all the teamwork and effort that has gone into this  
project.


Lou McFadin
W5DID
ARISS US Hardware manager