No, it's not Zombies in Space, but rather an experiment to
see the extent to which "exhaust" from new electric thruster engines
may disrupt radio communications. According to the AMSAT News Service these new
thrusters, which NASA is planning to use for future space exploration missions,
produce highly-ionized plumes of space plasma that have a side-effect of
scattering RF signals. The experiments carried out in early February, used the
International Space Station's amateur radio packet beacon on 145.825 MHz to
help determine the size, shape and duration of the RF "shadow" that
would result each time a thruster is fired. Participating ham stations noted
the times at which the beacon signals disappeared and reappeared as the ISS
flew over their locations. More information about the experiment may be found
at <http://bit.ly/sEKOJd>.
News and information of interest to ham radio operators from CQ Amateur Radio magazine, the world's leading independent ham radio magazine.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Hams Take Part in ISS "Dead Zone" Experiment
No, it's not Zombies in Space, but rather an experiment to
see the extent to which "exhaust" from new electric thruster engines
may disrupt radio communications. According to the AMSAT News Service these new
thrusters, which NASA is planning to use for future space exploration missions,
produce highly-ionized plumes of space plasma that have a side-effect of
scattering RF signals. The experiments carried out in early February, used the
International Space Station's amateur radio packet beacon on 145.825 MHz to
help determine the size, shape and duration of the RF "shadow" that
would result each time a thruster is fired. Participating ham stations noted
the times at which the beacon signals disappeared and reappeared as the ISS
flew over their locations. More information about the experiment may be found
at <http://bit.ly/sEKOJd>.