The new International Space Station (ISS) has amateur radio as a permanent feature. With the first Russian built module ‘ZARYA’ already launched (November 98), the station will initially be home to an amateur radio station similar to the SAREX (Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment) system. SAREX has been flown on many previous Space Shuttle flights to date with contacts including selected schools and colleges in addition to licensed radio amateurs. SAREX is an amateur radio Packet and voice system using a simple antenna system mounted on the Shuttle.
The system fitted initially to the ISS will be interchangeable with the current SAREX radio experiment and will be used to support amateur radio on the ISS until a permanent ‘base station’ is set up. This will take place at a later stage in the construction of the space station. Operation is likely to be centred around the 2m and 70Cms bands. The packet system will use TNCs with a ROBOT feature for callsign logging. Operation at 1200 and 9600 bauds is planned. It is also likely that SSTV and other modes will become available as new equipment is added to the ‘base station’.