`HAMS' SEEK SHUTTLE TALK; SHORT-WAVE RADIOS ALSO PICK UP TRANSMISSIONS

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- When the Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off (scheduled for 8:18 a.m. CST today), Cape Girardeau County residents will be cheering for astronaut and mission specialist Linda Godwin of Oak Ridge.

Those who have short-wave (world-band) radio receivers equipped with BFO to receive single sideband transmissions can listen in to the audio transmissions between Atlantis, and Kennedy Space Center (Cape Canaveral) and Johnson (Houston) Space Center mission control operators before liftoff and throughout the mission.

Beginning Saturday, amateur radio operators here, and in the rest of the country, can communicate with Atlantis during the mission as it passes over the United States.

The audio transmission of the shuttle communications will be transmitted over WA3NAN, the amateur base radio station operated by the Goddard Amateur Radio Club, located at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

Chuck Sommers, a mission planner with NASA, is president of the club and a ham radio operator, call sign N40SD.

Sommers said the club's amateur radio station will rebroadcast the audio transmissions between Atlantis and ground control on the following short-wave frequencies:

- 3.860 MHz, lower side band.

- 7.185 MHz, lower side band.

14.295 MHz, upper side band.

- 21.395 MHz, upper side band.

- 28.650 MHz, upper side band.

In addition to the audio transmissions, Sommers said Atlantis will be transmitting live video from space that can be seen on any home satellite receiver and dish system. Sommers said satellite dish owners should turn to Satcom F-2R, located at 72 degrees west, on Transponder 13. The audio portion of the transmission will be on 6.8 MHz.

Meanwhile, ham radio operators will be attempting for the first time to transmit a live TV signal from Earth to Atlantis.

"On this mission, ham radio operators in our club, and the clubs at the Johnson Space Flight Center, and the Motorola Group in Chicago will attempt to transmit fast-scan television signals from Earth to Atlantis as it passes over," he said. "Fast-scan TV is the same type of signal you receive on your TV sets from commercial television stations."

Sommers said that Atlantis' all-ham radio crew will begin transmitting to ham radio operators on Earth Saturday as the shuttle passes over the United States.

Sommers said ham radio operators who will be using the computer "PACKET" mode of communication should transmit on 144.91 MHz. The Atlantis' PACKET radio call sign is KB5AWP, and will transmit to Earth stations on 145.51 MHz.

Sommers said the ham radio voice transmissions from Atlantis to Earth stations will be transmitted on 145.55 MHz. Ham radio operators on the ground can communicate with Atlantis on the ground frequency of 144.95 MHz.

"Be sure to listen first before you try to transmit with Atlantis," said Sommers.

The ham radio transmissions from Atlantis will begin sometime Saturday morning, if the liftoff takes place on time.

"I would suggest those who want to talk to the crew on Atlantis, or those who want to listen in to the transmissions between the amateur radio operators, get a clock and set it to midnight," Sommers said. "When liftoff takes place, start the clock. That will give you the mission elapsed time that you will need to know for the times the Atlantis will be passing over the United States."

Assuming Atlantis lifts off this morning at 8:18 a.m., Sommers said the first ham radio communications will begin on Saturday morning. "The first window for communications will begin at 21 hours, 37 minutes after liftoff, and end at 21 hours, 50 minutes into the mission," he explained. "The next time window will be 23 hours, 12 minutes to 23 hours, 30 minutes."

Sommers said the next orbit of Atlantis over the United States will begin at 1 day/00:51 minutes into the mission and end at 1 day/01:09 minutes. The final pass across the U.S. on Saturday will be at 1 day/02:29 minutes and end at 1 day/02:47 minutes.

Americans can also eavesdrop on the crew of the Atlantis by calling the National Space Society's Dial-A-Shuttle, 1-900-909-NASA.

Callers will hear concise updates and mission activity reports, as well as background reports on the mission and other space activities. Recorded interviews with the crew will augment live astronaut communications.

Spokesman David Brandt said the National Space Society is a non-profit, publicly-supported membership organization dedicated to the creation of a space-faring civilization. The society has nearly 30,000 members and more than 125 chapters nationwide.

The toll charge for a call on the Dial-A-Shuttle number will be $2 for the first minute, and 45 cents for each additional minute. Proceeds from the calls will be used to further the non-profit society's educational efforts.