Timeline for Has any spacecraft ever had the ability to directly communicate with civilian air traffic control?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
15 events
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| S Apr 30, 2019 at 14:42 | history | rollback | Chris Stratton |
Rollback to Revision 2 - Edit approval overridden by post owner or moderator
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| Apr 30, 2019 at 14:31 | history | suggested | grg | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
replace code formatting with quote formatting (horizontal scrolling is awful on mobile, among other reasons)
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| Apr 30, 2019 at 10:11 | review | Suggested edits | |||
| S Apr 30, 2019 at 14:42 | |||||
| Apr 29, 2019 at 13:26 | vote | accept | DrSheldon | ||
| Apr 29, 2019 at 13:26 | comment | added | DrSheldon | I'm choosing this as the accepted answer because you did such a great job finding and writing up such an unexpected answer. | |
| Apr 29, 2019 at 4:24 | comment | added | busdriver | Well, I haven’t seen a reference anywhere that the radio has a tuning option, but a fixed frequency radios seem to be an industry standard. A separate landing beacon with fixed frequency is much simpler (and lighter) than tunable radio. But you are correct, without solid reference I’m only guessing. EDIT: found this:theappendix.net/posts/2013/11/the-cosmonauts-survival-kit There is indeed a radio in the kit. | |
| Apr 29, 2019 at 4:17 | comment | added | Chris Stratton | You're assuming that the ordinary fixed radio with headset or whatever can't operate on both 121.75 and 121.5. Given the recognized utility of 121.5 and that as far as any tuned RF stages or antennas are concerned it is the same frequency, that seems... unlikely. Even "back in the day" what does a crystal a switch and a few pin diodes mass in grams? | |
| Apr 29, 2019 at 4:13 | comment | added | busdriver | Oh, I see. Still, there is no mention that they could use the radio before landing. They could maybe unstow the portable radio after landing to communicate with the rescue team should they be unable to evacuate the capsule. The Soyuz has (had?) a fairly well equipped survival kit intended to be used In case of off-site landing. That would be a reasonable place to stow the radio during the flight which would make it inaccessible when crew is strapped to their seats. | |
| Apr 29, 2019 at 4:03 | comment | added | Chris Stratton | @busdriver - No, they can communicate without leaving the spacecraft. Again, read the link, it has specific references to reasons why radio communication on 121.5 (or failing that knock communication) is advisable before opening the hatch. | |
| Apr 29, 2019 at 4:02 | comment | added | busdriver | The point e) states that they can communicate on 121.5 if they have left the spacecraft. There is no mention that the crew could communicate on 121.5 during descent although there is the “AN” broadcast going on. Standard ELTs operate on very low power 121.5 that would be overpowered by the crew transmissions on portable radio, as mentioned in the document. | |
| Apr 29, 2019 at 3:56 | comment | added | Chris Stratton | @busdriver the sense I get is that there are at least two radios one indeed likely portable but also one fixed, note the above "broadcast on VHF 121.5 during descent" also there are references in the full document to antennas deploying after landing in a potentially hazardous-to-rescuers way. On a practical level, communication on the way down is really just getting a jump start on rescue communication - it's not like they're requesting clearance, but range will be much better in the air than on the ground so coordinating then (if possible) would be good. | |
| Apr 29, 2019 at 3:37 | comment | added | busdriver | I understood from the document you linked that the capsule is equipped with a carry-on VHF radio capable of transmitting on 121.5 and 243. It might be that the spacecraft doesn’t have a fixed radio to do that. | |
| Apr 29, 2019 at 0:45 | comment | added | Organic Marble | Great find! Didn't know the Soyuz carried a radio that could call on "guard". | |
| Apr 28, 2019 at 23:19 | history | edited | Chris Stratton | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
deleted 2 characters in body
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| Apr 28, 2019 at 23:11 | history | answered | Chris Stratton | CC BY-SA 4.0 |