SAASST News

Sunday, 28 March 2021 04:42

How to Communicate with the ISS?

As part of its program to enhance astronomy education, the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology organized a lecture on "How to Communicate with the ISS?" on Mar. 24, 2021. The lecture was given by Mrs. Tarifa Al-Kaabi, a SAASST research engineer at the CubeSat. Ms. Tarifa explained in full detail how the International Space Station communicates with Earth and how the astronauts communicate with each other inside and

outside the ISS during a spacewalk. An "Early Comm" existed on ISS, but the S-band and the Ku-Band Subsystems replaced it. The Audio subsystem distributes voice and "Caution & Warning" tones onboard the ISS. The S-band subsystem transmits voice, files, commands, and telemetry between the ISS and the Mission Control Center Houston (MCC-H) via the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). Ms. Noora also mentioned using a UHF subsystem to provide voice and data communication between the ISS, the Orbiter, and the Extravehicular Activities (EVA) suited crewmembers. The Video Distribution System (VDS) distributes video onboard the station, on fiber optic-analog lines, and interfaces with the Ku-band Subsystem to send video to the ground stations.

 

The online workshop was attended by many students, faculty members, and the general public. This special lecture can be checked online through the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcWB1MT6UlI