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Digipeater Activity Update
ARISS are currently undertaking tests on the newly installed SSTV equipment in the Service Module of the ISS. Based on Social Media reports and posted examples of received images from around the world, as well as those posted to the ARISS SSTV Gallery, it would appear that the new equipment is operating satisfactorily. Hopefully this means that we can look forward to more SSTV Activity periods.
The current SSTV Activity period is scheduled to take place between Friday 27 October 2023 and Wednesday 1 November 2023. However, EVA activities (spacewalks) are scheduled for 18:50 UTC on Sunday 29 October 2023 to 10:05 UTC on Tuesday 31 October 2023. During any EVA, ARISS shut down all of the amateur radio operations on the ISS.
Combining the shutdown period with the orbital profile of the ISS means that over IO81qk, where the Club and many members are based, the last viable pass of the first session is likely to be 07:37 UTC on Sunday 29 October 2023 to 07:44 UTC on Sunday 29 October 2023. The first viable pass over IO81qk in the second activity period is expected to be 00:26 UTC on Wednesday 1 November 2023 – 00:27 UTC on Wednesday 1 November 2023. This is a comparatively short pass with a maximum elevation of only 10 degrees, subsequent passes offer better opportunities to receive SSTV images.
Session 1 – Completed
- Start: 12:15 UTC on Friday 27 October 2023.
- End: 18:50 UTC on Sunday 29 October 2023.
As we are effectively at “half-time” here are a few of the images received by SBARC members and shared with us:
Session 2
After the scheduled EVA Activities have been completed it is expected that the SSTV Transmissions from the ISS will resume, the second session is expected to occur as follows:
- Start: 10:05 UTC on Tuesday 31 October 2023.
- End: 18:10 UTC on Wednesday 01 November 2023.
Full pass predictions are available in our previous News Post. According to this we expect the passes over the Clubhouse in IO81qk to be as follows:
- 01/11/2023: 00:26 UTC – 00:27 UTC, maximum elevation 10 degrees
- 01/11/2023: 01:59 UTC – 02:06 UTC, maximum elevation 41 degrees
- 01/11/2023: 03:36 UTC – 03:43 UTC, maximum elevation 88 degrees
- 01/11/2023: 05:13 UTC – 05:19 UTC, maximum elevation 77 degrees
- 01/11/2023: 06:50 UTC – 06:55 UTC, maximum elevation 26 degrees
The SSTV Activity period ends before the next group of viable passes, so these 5 passes represent the last chances for a while to receive SSTV from the ISS.
