ARISS International Monthly Meeting Teleconference
March 17, 2020 - 1200 UTC
Participants:
Oliver Amend
Fabio Azzarello
Frank Bauer
Gaston Bertels
Armand Budzianowski
Emanuele D’Andria
Francesco De Paolis
Stefan Dombrowski
Shizuo Endo
Gianpietro Ferrario
Bruce Hunter
Bertus Husken
Tony Hutchison
David Jordan
John Kludt
Peter Kofler
Keigo Komuro
Chet Latawiec
Glenn MacDonell
Lou McFadin
Ciaran Morgan
Jan Poppeliers
Kenneth Ransom
Sergey Samburov
Graham Shirville
Dave Taylor
Rosalie White
Satoshi Yasuda
Interpreter: Olga Moncuquet
Unable to attend:
Kerry Banke
Jean-Pierre Courjaud
Darin Cowan
Ken Nichols
Mark Steiner
Meeting Agenda
Roll Call—Rosalie White, K1STO
Welcome—Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
Frank Bauer commented that the world is struggling with COVID-19 and the team will discuss this. He asked that we all do what we can to stay healthy. He talked about the successful SpaceX-20 launch of ARISS equipment on March 6, 2020 and he will share more details.
1. Call for Acceptance of Minutes—Rosalie White, K1STO
[Decisional]
Summary: The minutes from the ARISS-International Monthly Meeting on February 18, 2019 were finalized by Rosalie White on February 27, 2020. A review of the minutes was completed March 16 and the file was distributed to ARISS Delegates.
Discussion: Rosalie White reported that she received no comments regarding the March 16th file that was distributed. Gaston Bertels made a motion to adopt these minutes. Glenn MacDonell seconded the motion. There were no further comments; the team accepted the minutes. Frank Bauer asked Rosalie White to have Carol Jackson post them on the ARISS web site.
2. COVID-19 & ARISS—Frank Bauer, KA3HDO & Oliver Amend, DG6BCE
[Informational]
Summary: A report will be given by ARISS Regions on how their ARISS teams are addressing the situation. Also, a discussion will be held on change options for the June ARISS Face-to-face meeting in Munich.
Discussion: Frank Bauer stated that the world is dealing with the COVID-19 virus. ARISS teams are holding discussions with mentors on safe practices; guidelines for schools are being devised. Guidance will change as the virus changes. Each ARISS Region’s guidelines will be different because the territory of each region is large and there are many variations in the virus’s effects. The most important guidance is to do what will protect the students and staff, ARISS personnel and ham operators who assist, and the audience. Shizuo Endo, Satoshi Yasuda, and Glenn MacDonell shared some comments on their ARISS Regions.
Ideas are circulating among the team on how ARISS activities could be handled, such as in virtual ways in place of people congregating together. Gaston Bertels suggested some ideas for telebridge stations and virtual meeting platforms. Lou McFadin said more ARISS SSTV activities might be offered if possible, by ARISS-Russia. Sergey Samburov asked for new images to be used tentatively in April. He said one idea is for images of old ARISS equipment versus new ARISS equipment. Glenn MacDonell added that a variety of ARISS activities can help people dealing with isolation.
Oliver Amend said the ARISS-International meetings that were to be in Munich in June 2020 have been canceled. The host for the meetings, the German Space Agency, is closing its building to all visitors. The meeting topics are very important and will be discussed by teleconference. ARISS needs everyone to participate; please plan on that. Rosalie White said Oliver Amend’s announcement about the cancellation of Munich meetings will be distributed via email to ARISS-I, ARISS-Ops, and others outside of the team who considered attending.
3. Gateway Status & Request for Who Can Support—Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
[Informational]
Summary: An update will be shared on the Gateway project, understanding where we are with the space agencies, and the very critical need to find leaders for the major roles and responsibilities.
Discussion: Frank Bauer had asked team members in the past to define what roles and responsibilities they would accept to move the Gateway project forward. All five ARISS Regions’ teams were invited to attend the AREx meetings. Responses have been low. Frank Bauer will send an email on where the project stands. The email will list roles and responsibilities and show what ones have no people named as committing to do those tasks. Graham Shirville asked for a clarification, and Frank Bauer gave an example: in the United Kingdom, Chris Bridges and Ciaran Morgan have been participating in meetings, but a commitment is needed now for how AMSAT-UK and RSGB can support the Gateway effort.
The Gateway team is working with a two-phased development plan, Mark 1 and Mark 2. Mark 1 is a very rudimentary system with multiple simple antennas that do not point. Mark 1 would allow ARISS to get involved early in Gateway. Mark 2 would have a pointing antenna and equipment inside the spacecraft cabin.
Frank Bauer and others have attended frequent multiple-hour meetings with NASA Gateway team members, who are encouraging ARISS to be involved. They should be sharing new announcements about Gateway in the next few weeks.
Frank Bauer said AREx needs commitments to Gateway roles and responsibilities from organizations and individuals by no later than June 2020. Otherwise, AREx cannot move forward with Gateway. Also, he will not be the project manager due to his many other ARISS responsibilities—another individual needs to take the AREx project manager role.
4. Update, InterOperable Radio System (IORS)--Lou McFadin, W5DID & Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
[Informational]
Summary: A follow-up will be presented on the launch, finalization of paperwork, what is next, and the InterOperable Radio System (IORS) unit that will be launched for ARISS-Russia.
Discussion: Lou McFadin reported on the successful SpaceX-20 launch on March 6, 2020 of the InterOperable Radio System—the Kenwood radio, multi-voltage power supply, and associated cabling. He said there are three NASA verifications to be resolved prior to IORS installation and on-orbit operations—the ARISS team is waiting for approval from NASA on a requirement waiver to complete the engineering verifications and begin set-up and operations.
Frank Bauer said the week before the launch, ARISS received approval from the NASA safety team for IORS operations, but there are NASA engineering requirements to be closed for the IORS. We would expect that in a month or two, installation and operation should be completed. Currently, the ARISS team is completing the writing of the procedures for installation and operation by the crew.
The Multi-Voltage Power Supply for the Russian Service Module is being built. Frank Bauer asked Sergey Samburov for any details on Russian IORS certification beyond what has already been accomplished and presented to the Russian certification team. Sergey Samburov asked to have photographs sent to him of the IORS that was launched, as those would be helpful to him.
Armand Budzianowski thanked Frank Bauer and everyone on the team for all of their successful work on the IORS project.
Ad hoc
Armand Budzianowski thanked Oliver Amend and Gaston Bertels for their work on the congratulations letter from ARISS to the Polish IARU society, Polski Związek Krótkofalowców, on its 90th anniversary.
Frank Bauer thanked Olga Moncuquet for her excellent interpretation support. He thanked the team for working well together on an international scale.
Next Meeting
The next meeting will be April 21, 2020 at 1100 UTC.
Respectfully submitted,
Rosalie White, K1STO
ARISS-International Secretary-Treasurer
March 20, 2020
March 17, 2020 - 1200 UTC
Participants:
Oliver Amend
Fabio Azzarello
Frank Bauer
Gaston Bertels
Armand Budzianowski
Emanuele D’Andria
Francesco De Paolis
Stefan Dombrowski
Shizuo Endo
Gianpietro Ferrario
Bruce Hunter
Bertus Husken
Tony Hutchison
David Jordan
John Kludt
Peter Kofler
Keigo Komuro
Chet Latawiec
Glenn MacDonell
Lou McFadin
Ciaran Morgan
Jan Poppeliers
Kenneth Ransom
Sergey Samburov
Graham Shirville
Dave Taylor
Rosalie White
Satoshi Yasuda
Interpreter: Olga Moncuquet
Unable to attend:
Kerry Banke
Jean-Pierre Courjaud
Darin Cowan
Ken Nichols
Mark Steiner
Meeting Agenda
Roll Call—Rosalie White, K1STO
Welcome—Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
Frank Bauer commented that the world is struggling with COVID-19 and the team will discuss this. He asked that we all do what we can to stay healthy. He talked about the successful SpaceX-20 launch of ARISS equipment on March 6, 2020 and he will share more details.
1. Call for Acceptance of Minutes—Rosalie White, K1STO
[Decisional]
Summary: The minutes from the ARISS-International Monthly Meeting on February 18, 2019 were finalized by Rosalie White on February 27, 2020. A review of the minutes was completed March 16 and the file was distributed to ARISS Delegates.
Discussion: Rosalie White reported that she received no comments regarding the March 16th file that was distributed. Gaston Bertels made a motion to adopt these minutes. Glenn MacDonell seconded the motion. There were no further comments; the team accepted the minutes. Frank Bauer asked Rosalie White to have Carol Jackson post them on the ARISS web site.
2. COVID-19 & ARISS—Frank Bauer, KA3HDO & Oliver Amend, DG6BCE
[Informational]
Summary: A report will be given by ARISS Regions on how their ARISS teams are addressing the situation. Also, a discussion will be held on change options for the June ARISS Face-to-face meeting in Munich.
Discussion: Frank Bauer stated that the world is dealing with the COVID-19 virus. ARISS teams are holding discussions with mentors on safe practices; guidelines for schools are being devised. Guidance will change as the virus changes. Each ARISS Region’s guidelines will be different because the territory of each region is large and there are many variations in the virus’s effects. The most important guidance is to do what will protect the students and staff, ARISS personnel and ham operators who assist, and the audience. Shizuo Endo, Satoshi Yasuda, and Glenn MacDonell shared some comments on their ARISS Regions.
Ideas are circulating among the team on how ARISS activities could be handled, such as in virtual ways in place of people congregating together. Gaston Bertels suggested some ideas for telebridge stations and virtual meeting platforms. Lou McFadin said more ARISS SSTV activities might be offered if possible, by ARISS-Russia. Sergey Samburov asked for new images to be used tentatively in April. He said one idea is for images of old ARISS equipment versus new ARISS equipment. Glenn MacDonell added that a variety of ARISS activities can help people dealing with isolation.
Oliver Amend said the ARISS-International meetings that were to be in Munich in June 2020 have been canceled. The host for the meetings, the German Space Agency, is closing its building to all visitors. The meeting topics are very important and will be discussed by teleconference. ARISS needs everyone to participate; please plan on that. Rosalie White said Oliver Amend’s announcement about the cancellation of Munich meetings will be distributed via email to ARISS-I, ARISS-Ops, and others outside of the team who considered attending.
3. Gateway Status & Request for Who Can Support—Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
[Informational]
Summary: An update will be shared on the Gateway project, understanding where we are with the space agencies, and the very critical need to find leaders for the major roles and responsibilities.
Discussion: Frank Bauer had asked team members in the past to define what roles and responsibilities they would accept to move the Gateway project forward. All five ARISS Regions’ teams were invited to attend the AREx meetings. Responses have been low. Frank Bauer will send an email on where the project stands. The email will list roles and responsibilities and show what ones have no people named as committing to do those tasks. Graham Shirville asked for a clarification, and Frank Bauer gave an example: in the United Kingdom, Chris Bridges and Ciaran Morgan have been participating in meetings, but a commitment is needed now for how AMSAT-UK and RSGB can support the Gateway effort.
The Gateway team is working with a two-phased development plan, Mark 1 and Mark 2. Mark 1 is a very rudimentary system with multiple simple antennas that do not point. Mark 1 would allow ARISS to get involved early in Gateway. Mark 2 would have a pointing antenna and equipment inside the spacecraft cabin.
Frank Bauer and others have attended frequent multiple-hour meetings with NASA Gateway team members, who are encouraging ARISS to be involved. They should be sharing new announcements about Gateway in the next few weeks.
Frank Bauer said AREx needs commitments to Gateway roles and responsibilities from organizations and individuals by no later than June 2020. Otherwise, AREx cannot move forward with Gateway. Also, he will not be the project manager due to his many other ARISS responsibilities—another individual needs to take the AREx project manager role.
4. Update, InterOperable Radio System (IORS)--Lou McFadin, W5DID & Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
[Informational]
Summary: A follow-up will be presented on the launch, finalization of paperwork, what is next, and the InterOperable Radio System (IORS) unit that will be launched for ARISS-Russia.
Discussion: Lou McFadin reported on the successful SpaceX-20 launch on March 6, 2020 of the InterOperable Radio System—the Kenwood radio, multi-voltage power supply, and associated cabling. He said there are three NASA verifications to be resolved prior to IORS installation and on-orbit operations—the ARISS team is waiting for approval from NASA on a requirement waiver to complete the engineering verifications and begin set-up and operations.
Frank Bauer said the week before the launch, ARISS received approval from the NASA safety team for IORS operations, but there are NASA engineering requirements to be closed for the IORS. We would expect that in a month or two, installation and operation should be completed. Currently, the ARISS team is completing the writing of the procedures for installation and operation by the crew.
The Multi-Voltage Power Supply for the Russian Service Module is being built. Frank Bauer asked Sergey Samburov for any details on Russian IORS certification beyond what has already been accomplished and presented to the Russian certification team. Sergey Samburov asked to have photographs sent to him of the IORS that was launched, as those would be helpful to him.
Armand Budzianowski thanked Frank Bauer and everyone on the team for all of their successful work on the IORS project.
Ad hoc
- HamTV Firmware Ready, Electrical Tests Done, some Technical Issues in Discussion—Oliver Amend, DG6BCE
- Non-profit US Group– Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
- Proposal on Using ARISS Pi Development – Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
Armand Budzianowski thanked Oliver Amend and Gaston Bertels for their work on the congratulations letter from ARISS to the Polish IARU society, Polski Związek Krótkofalowców, on its 90th anniversary.
Frank Bauer thanked Olga Moncuquet for her excellent interpretation support. He thanked the team for working well together on an international scale.
Next Meeting
The next meeting will be April 21, 2020 at 1100 UTC.
Respectfully submitted,
Rosalie White, K1STO
ARISS-International Secretary-Treasurer
March 20, 2020