The information in this file is a portion of the "How to get a Launch Pass" file written by Ken Hollis INTERNET: HOLLIS@TITAN.KSC.NASA.GOV available via anonymous FTP from "explorer.arc.nasa.gov". It contains only the portions of viewing Shuttle Launches that are not covered by the "official" NASA FAQ. The copy of this document on the KSC server was last updated 2/9/94 and is not currently being maintained. It is just placed on this server in case you can not find the information anywhere else. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The KSC visitor center sells approximately 1,500 tickets to board buses to transport visitors to a viewing site to watch Space Shuttle Launches. The tickets at the time of writing this document are $7.00 each ($4.00 for children ages 3-11). Reservations begin approximately one week before launch by calling (407) 452-2121 Ext 260/261. Tickets must be picked up in person prior to launch day. You can visit the KSC Visitor's center WWW site ("http://www.kscvisitor.com/") for additional detail. NASA also offers a limited number of Car Passes. You may write to the following address for a launch pass: NASA Vehicle Pass PA - Pass Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899 Each vehicle launch pass allows the entry of a vehicle. If you have a van, please request a vehicle pass for an oversized vehicle. One per address. In general, if you know the launch that you wish, ask for that launch. The launch pass is good for that launch no matter how many times it is postponed. If you know a general time frame, then ask for that time frame. In an earlier version of this FAQ, suggested a shortcut for getting a launch pass on short notice by calling your Senator's or House Representative's office. While this may seem to work sometimes, it is not a good idea to get a pass on short notice. Calling your Congressman's office means that your request gets forwarded by a congressional aid to the NASA Legislative Affairs office. This office then submits the request to the NASA Public Affairs Office thru the same route that is used if you request the pass directly. If it is too late to get a launch pass directly from NASA (about a week or two prior to launch) then it is probably too late to get one thru your congressional office. If you are unable to obtain a launch pass, fred-mckenzie@ksc.nasa.gov suggests: If you decide to come to the coast for the launch, I suggest you come to Titusville. Go east on State Road 50 from I-95, to US-1. Go north on US-1 to the "Miracle City Mall" at Harrison. Park somewhere north of this spot. Anywhere north along highway 1, or east (as far as you can) along highway 406 (402) is good (specifically Sand Point Park), just as long as you can see the VAB and don't have trees blocking the view. Also you can try Jetty Park at Port Canaveral. (you will be south of the launch looking north). Regardless of where you are going to see it, arrive early (at least 2 hours before launch). Be prepared to get into some real heavy traffic, it will also take some time to get out of the area. Bring along some food and drink, umbrellas, sun glasses, sun screen, portable TV/radio, binoculars, VCR.....whatever When watching a launch, listen to FM Station 91.5 (It is a local religious station) or AM 580 out of Orlando (Thanx to Matthew DeLuca). NASA Select Television is available on Spacenet 2, transponder 5, located at 69 degrees West with horizontal polarization. Frequency is 3880.0 Megahertz, audio on 6.8 Megahertz. TV : Local stations such as 56, 2, 6 & 9 sometimes have live coverage. They usually just interrupt the program that is in progress for the final 2 minutes of prelaunch, and then a couple of minutes after launch. Same for landing. Radio : Some local radio stations to listen to are 91.5 FM, 99.3 FM, 101.1 FM, 1350 AM and 580 AM. The Space Shuttle transmits on three frequency bands: UHF, S-Band, and Ku-Band. The UHF frequencies are simple AM voice and are very easy to copy. These frequencies are used for launch and landing operations, EVA operations, and as an additional voice downlink when other channels are in use for the current ground station has no S-Band capability. The frequencies in use are: 296.800 MHz : Air-to-ground, or Orbiter to suit 259.700 MHz : Air-to-ground, or suit to Orbiter 279.000 MHz : Suit-to-Orbiter, or suit-to-suit 243.000 MHz : Standard military aircraft emergency frequency 146.94 MHz - Rebroadcast HAM frequencies. The S-Band system is one of the primary Orbiter downlink bands. The voice channels are digital slope delta modulated and are multiplexed in with the rest of the Orbiter telemetry and is very difficult to copy. Much of the downlink TV is on S-Band also, but is wideband FM and should be easy to copy. The frequencies are: 2287.500 MHz : Primary digital downlink 2250.000 MHz : Wideband FM with either main engine analog telemetry during launch, or TV during orbit operations. The Ku-Band system is used in conjunction with the tracking and data relay satellites and is used much more heavily in Spacelab flights than in others. The data rate is VERY high (50 Mbits/second). These transmissions are directed to TDRS satellites in geostationary orbit on a frequency of 15.003 GHz. [Info via WA3NAN, and WA4SIR] Are you a Ham? If you have a two meter receiver or a scanner along, tune to 146.94 MHz. John Anderson, K4GCC, rebroadcasts the "NASA Select" audio channel on his repeater. Other popular repeaters in the immediate area are 145.37, 146.91, 146.97, 147.36, 444.150 and 444.750. Additions from "Space Shuttle Radio Frequency List, Rich Weinkauf, Farmington, MI, 01/24/92, STSFRQ03.TXT", dingman@PIE9.MACH.CS.CMU.EDU & jkeller@apt.mdc.com --excerpt from rec.radio.amateur.misc FAQ Part 3------------- ** On what frequencies do JPL and GSFC retransmit the shuttle audio? Station VHF 10m 15m 20m 40m 80m Video WA3NAN 147.45 28.650 21.395 14.295 7.185 3.860 W6VIO 224.04 21.280 14.282 7.165 K6MF 145.585 7.165 3.840 W5RRR 146.64 28.495 21.350 14.280 7.227 3.850 KA9SZX 146.88 426.25 K4GCC 146.94 WA4VME 145.17 You might also try 20192 lsb which is NASA. All frequencies are in MHz. Use FM on VHF, USB on 10-20m, LSB on 40-80m. WA3NAN - NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD W6VIO - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA K6MF - NASA Ames Research Center (ARC), Moffett Field, CA W5RRR - NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX W6FXN - Los Angeles, CA KA9SZX - Champaign-Urbana, IL K4GCC - Titusville, FL (near or at Kennedy Space Center) WA4VME - Melbourne, FL (near or at Kennedy Space Center) From: hrsblackwell@hrs.gsfc.nasa.gov (Jim Blackwell) GODDARD AMATEUR RADIO CLUB RETRANSMITS SHUTTLE COMMUNICATIONS I don't know who the author was of this email, however it contains a list of Shuttle Retransmission frequencies transmitted throughout the country. RETRANSMISSIONS OF SHUTTLE AUDIO ON AMATEUR RADIO FREQUENCIES This document contains two sections. The first is a statement from the ARRL concerning some HF retransmissions of Shuttle Audio. The second is a collection of reports of frequencies (most VHF) where retransmissions have been observed. TELNET to SPACELINK.MSFC.NASA.GOV And you can follow the menus to a listing of repeaters in the USA that offer this service. STATEMENT FROM THE ARRL: (edited from the SAREX section of NASA Spacelink) During a shuttle mission carrying the SAREX payload, news and Astronaut re- transmissions are carried on these Amateur Radio stations: Goddard Amateur Radio Club, WA3NAN, (Greenbelt, MD) news and re-transmissions on Amateur Radio high frequency (HF) bands at 3.86, 7.185, 14.295, 21.395, and 28.65 MHz and on VHF at 147.45 MHz. Johnson Space Center Amateur Radio Club, W5RRR, (Houston, TX) news bulletins on HF bands at 3.850, 7.227, 14.280, 21.350, and 28.400 MHz and VHF at 146.64 MHz. Lewis Research Center Amateur Radio Club, AK8Y, (Cleveland, OH) Shuttle audio on 145.670 MHZ and 147.195 MHZ. Alternate is 147.195 MHZ. ARRL (Newington, CT) Amateur Radio station, W1AW, news bulletins (9:45 PM, 12:45 AM EST) on HF bands at 1.818, 3.5815, 7.0475, 14.0475, 18.0975, 21.0675, 28.0675 and VHF at 147.555 MHz. REPORTS: State City Date Reported Frequencies (MHz) ----- ---------------- ------------- ------------------------- AL Birmingham 10/10/89 145.150 145.380 AL Huntsville 12/31/92 147.100 173.025 AR Russellville 3/24/92 439.250 AZ Phoenix 12/9/91 421.250 449.000 CA Los Angeles 1/7/90 52.640 224.940 CA Los Angeles 12/21/89 1241.250 CA Los Angeles 12/4/91 145.320 145.460 445.400 CA Los Angeles 12/4/91 445.425 446.575 447.000 CA Los Angeles 12/4/91 447.025 447.400 447.475 CA Los Angeles 12/4/91 448.375 448.500 CA Monterey Bay 7/1/91 145.585 443.300 CA Northern 3/19/90 145.530 CA Redondo Beach 9/23/93 145.32 W6TRW CA Sacramento 4/10/91 147.195 CA San Diego 3/23/92 449.450 1277.25 CA San Francisco 4/29/91 427.250 444.775 CA San Joaquin Vly 5/6/89 52.22 CA Santa Barbara 4/21/90 1277.000 CO Denver 11/27/93 147.225 (NASA select audio) DC Washington 11/28/83 147.450 (Greenbelt, MD) FL Cape Canaveral 10/11/89 146.940 FL Daytona Beach 1/25/92 147.150 FL Fort Lauderdale 12/03/93 442.650 FL Gainesville 3/30/92 146.900 FL Jacksonville 4/25/90 147.12 FL Lakeland 7/18/92 147.375 FL Orlando 5/8/92 147.150 FL St. Petersburg 6/3/92 444.725 FL Tampa 4/12/92 146.760 147.380 FL Vero Beach 4/19/90 145.130 Fl North Lauderdale 12/03/93 145.750 GA Ashburn 5/5/89 147.285 GA Atlanta 12/4/91 146.655 147.345 427.250 GA Forsyth 6/7/90 147.915 IA Cedar Rapids 10/18/89 146.400 444.300 IL Champaign-Urbana 11/30/93 146.880 kazel@uiuc.edu IL Chicago 4/19/90 145.210 IL Downers Grove 9/23/93 145.350 IL Morton Grove 12/7/93 145.350 IL Rolling Meadows 2/12/92 145.350 IN Indianapolis 3/15/92 426.250 ME Portland 12/16/89 146.925 ME York 12/16/89 224.840 MN Central 2/19/90 149.200 MN Twin Cities 3/11/89 145.150 147.120 MN Waseca 1/2/90 147.450 427.250 MO Gladstone 12/7/93 224.660 MO Kansas City 3/25/92 145.430 426.250 MO St. Louis 1/25/92 442.000 NJ Central 7/5/92 443.400 (PL 141.3) NJ Northern 12/12/93 146.610 NY Albany 9/6/91 146.820 NY Long Island 3/30/92 448.425 OH Dayton 5/4/89 145.110 OH Greenville 3/11/90 146.790 OK Tulsa 2/6/92 144.340 146.940 421.250 PA Pittsburgh 6/25/92 145.470 PA Pittsburgh 9/23/93 145.650 SC Orangeburg 12/3/93 146.805 SD Watertown 1/14/92 145.550 TX Dallas 7/18/90 145.310 448.750 TX Dallas 9/13/91 146.600 TX Houston 6/27/92 146.640 WI Wausau 9/5/91 146.820 147.06 421.250 andreas@il.us.swissbank.com has some hints for photographers: - Get the longest lens available (e.g. rent one at Helix). I used a 300mm shooting from Titusville and was still too far away to clearly see the shuttle. However I could take beautiful shots of the engine's firetrail and the smoke. - Put your camera into continuous shooting mode (unless you have a VERY high speed camera like a Nikon), as the whole spectacle will be over within no time: I shot about 1 roll of film (36 pictures) until the shuttle was gone for good while almost constantly pressing the button. - Use a LOW speed film (ASA 50) as the light is so bright (Remember: NASA launches only under good weather conditions), that even with a long tele lens you still have enough light left for short exposure times (I had 1/1000 with F 5.6 and a Kodachrome 64). That way making detail enlargements is also easier, meaning less grainy. - I have not attended a night launch yet. However judged on what I've seen on TV, I would suggest a 100-200 ASA film for such a launch. - Try to AVOID a tripod, as the shuttle moves "upwards to the right" (at least from Titusville with the standard 28 degree inclination). You are more flexible if you use a onepod or even better one of those professional harnesses, that you wear like a jacket and that support your long lens (like a tripod attached to your upper body). - During the night before the launch you can see (at least sometimes) a search light illuminating the launch pad. With a tripod and a very long exposure time (> 20 sec's on Kodachrome 64) you'll get nice pictures as well. Make several shots with different times according to general night time photography rules. - A final hint for the early-birds: I was lucky enough to see the big and red glowing sun rising exactly behind the VAB (from the US1 in Titusville). An incredible view, that didn't even require a tripod. Expendable Vehicles =================== These are usually launched from the southern part of the base, best viewing is at Jetty Park or south along the beaches of Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach. Not as crowed as shuttle launches, but still give yourself some time to arrive early. Jetty park can fill up so plan an alternate. Again bring your stuff. Landing Information =================== Unfortunately the KSC landing strip cannot accommodate a "viewing public" because it is situated on wetlands, however : gt3597a@prism.gatech.edu suggests : If you do happen to try and view the landing at KSC, do not despair when you realize actually how far away US 1 is from the runway. Even a moderately powered set of field glasses will provide good views of the Orbiter as is decelerates into the KSC area. That twin sonic boom is very unique and, for me, was well worth the drive by itself. You will actually be able to see the Orbiter as it comes into the KSC area and turns on the heading alignment circle better than during the final approach. For a landing pass at Edwards, Thanks To Mary Shafer shafer@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov : There are three ways to see the Shuttle landing at Edwards AFB, listed in order of restrictiveness of access and availability. 1. The East Shore area on the lakebed. Take Hwy. 14 to Avenue F and follow the signs or take Hwy. 58 to 20 Mule Team Road and follow those signs. This area is opened about 2 days before the scheduled touchdown. The viewing area is an unimproved area so don't expect many amenities. I think that there are sanitary facilities and that food and drinks can be purchased. It's suggested that you bring food and water Nothing is required for access to this area. (I've never been to this area, so I can't speak from personal knowledge.) If any viewing is allowed this site will be open. The only times they don't open it is for the DoD's classified missions. 2. The hillside viewing area. This is on the hillside, just above Ames-Dryden, and requires a special pass. This pass is good for one vehicle, with any number of passengers. You can't enter the Ames-Dryden complex but you can walk down the hill to the cafeteria and the gift shop, etc. More amenities, including radio transmissions from the Shuttle and JSC. Some of us believe that this area has the BEST view of the landing. I believe that the Hillside, like the East Shore, is open for all unclassified missions. These passes can be obtained by writing, as detailed below. Ames-Dryden employees can also obtain them. 3. Official guest. Access to the Ames-Dryden complex. You get to watch the landing from the ramp, which is right on the lakebed. (The Shuttle lands some distance away, depending on which runway it uses.) The crew speaks to the crowd just before they return to JSC. There are special aircraft displays (including the SR-71, F-15, F-18, X-29, etc.) in the hangars. The radio transmissions are broadcast. This method is only predicted for a few missions this year. Opening the Facility is fairly labor-intensive and very disruptive, so we won't do it for every possible mission. You can write, as detailed below, to obtain these badges and parking permits. To obtain a hillside pass or official guest badges, write to: NASA Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility Public Affairs Office P.O. Box 273 Edwards, CA 92523-5000 Do this early, because there is a limited amount of space. If you get these and then discover that you can't attend, please try to pass them on to someone else who can use them. Incidentally, there is _no_ charge for any of these. billd@informix.com (William Daul) suggests it is quicker to call your congress person and ask for a VIP pass. They usually have you pick the pass up somewhere near Edwards. However, From: markb@spock.dis.cccd.edu (Mark Bixby) remarks : I took the time to write to NASA/Dryden for a Hillside viewing pass, and what do you know, they open Hillside to the general public no passes required. Needless to say, with that kind of crowd, the gift store was mobbed! You get a much, much closer view of the shuttle compared to the East Shore viewing site.... Come see the Shuttle land--it's great. Wear warm clothes! If the Shuttle lands in the morning, it will be cool to downright cold. Forget the myth that the desert is always hot, it may be in the low 60s even in the summer at sunrise. It's frequently freezing in the winter. If it's much warmer, it's because the wind is blowing. However, if you're an Official Guest and will be hanging around until the Astronaut Departure Ceremony, it may be warm by then. Wear layers. Especially, wear warm footwear. Official Guests will be standing around on the cold, cold ramp and all your body heat will seep out of your feet into the concrete heat sink. Running shoes work well. Hillside Guests will be sitting up on metal bleachers. The portions of their anatomy in contact with the bleachers (feet and seat) may get _real_ cold. Here is a list of Freqs for the White Sands Missile Range Military Police: 36.100 141.250 Laser Operations: 173.5625 Drone Operations: 164.500 172.400 Cooling: 168.000 Maint: 34.490 Missile Tracking: 412.875 Range Control: Channel 1 36.510 Channel 2 34.850 Telemetry: 38.450, 38.710, 38.950, 40.100, 41.450 Photography: 30.090, 41.430, 139.440 NASA operations: 34.310, 164.100, 169.075, 169.400 The Public Affairs Office at the Johnson Space Center operates a BBS to provide information to the public. Check this board for updates to the Keplerian element sets during the flight. To access the BBS, call +1-713-483-2500 using 1200 baud (do NOT connect at 2400 baud), 8-N-1, at the ENTER NUMBER: prompt, enter "62511" and you will be connected to the BBS. Direct dial numbers are 1-713-483-2419 and 1-713-483-2278. Check file area 30 or 99 for latest element sets. NASA JSC's Electronic Space Information BBS is intended to provide 24-hour access to biographies of NASA officials and astronauts, news releases, space flight mission press kits and television schedules, space shuttle systems information, flight manifests and schedules, and other information about the space program. Additional X-Windows info & GIF's can be obtained from ftp@krakatoa.jsc.nasa.gov or 139.169.31.12 or by gopher at krakatoa.jsc.nasa.gov 70 or 139.169.31.12 70. Donations: Much of this library is comprised of donations by local contributions. We encourage all donations concerning X windows such as widgets, programming tools, and other applications. You can also call: THE NASA SPACELINK, Huntsville, Alabama, 24 Hours, 300-9600 BAUD, 8N1,(205) 895-0028, log in with the username NEWUSER and the password NEWUSER, or Telnet via spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov. Or FEDIX 1-800-232-4879, 301-258-0953, 1200 or 2400 BAUD, an on-line service that links education community and the federal government. Info on NASA, Department Of Energy, Office Of Naval Research, Federal Aviation Administration & Minority Info. MSFC's spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov(128.158.13.250), now accepts FTP connects at 192.149.89.61, using username of anonymous, and a password of guest. I understand it is still in the experimental stage, and they are looking for user feedback. For science, technology and classroom demonstrations, call Argonne National Laboratory 708-252-8241, or Internet newton.dep.anl.gov or 130.202.92.50. Or pubinfo.jpl.nasa.gov may be accessed by Internet via anonymous FTP to jpl-info.jpl.nasa.gov (137.78.104.2); or by dialup modem to +1 (818) 354-1333, up to 9600 baud v32/v42bis/MNP5. For more information on CD-ROMs, telnet to nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov, username: NODIS (no password). For a hardcopy catalog phone (301)268-6695 or send email to request@nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov and ask for the "NASA Earth and Space Science Data on CD-ROM." tkelso@afit.af.mil tells us : The most current orbital elements from the NORAD two-line element sets are carried on the Celestial BBS, (513) 427-0674, and are updated several times weekly. Documentation and tracking software are also available on this system. The Celestial BBS may be accessed 24 hours/day at 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, or 9600 bps using 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity. Orbital data available on T. S. Kelso's BBS is also available by FTP at archive.afit.af.mil, in the /pub/space directory. Another good source of Space shuttle 2-line orbital elements is the RPV ASTRONOMY BBS (310-541-7299). To get Two-line element sets: From Eric Kaercher, America Online: Astyanax, Internet: astyanax@aol.com, eric.kaercher@f73.n374.z1.fidonet.org, Fidonet: 1:374/73 TABLE OF CONTENTS (1) Instructions for using Elements Archive Server (2) Introduction to the Shuttle Elements Mailing List (3) Retrieving recent element sets (1) Instructions for using Elements Archive Server Commands should be sent to "listserv@alsys.com". You can use the following commands: path Specify a return mail path to use other than the mail path in the header of your message. help Get this help. index Get the top-level index of files available from the archive server. send Get a particular file. For example, to get the "index" file in the "tracking-programs" directory, you would use "send tracking-programs/index". Don't forget to specify the directory for the file you are retrieving! quit Stop parsing your message at this point. (use this to prevent your .signature from confusing the server) If you do not understand something in these instructions, or if you need to talk to a real person about the mail server for some other reason, please send mail to "garym@alsys.com". (2) Shuttle Keplerian Elements Mailing List The purpose of the mailing list is to get Shuttle elements out as quickly as possible during shuttle flights. With help from several different sources I can provide pre-launch predicted elements, rotated pre-launch elements right after launch (to compensate for launch delays), and post launch elements based on either Shuttle computer state vector data or on NORAD radar tracking data. Basically you will be getting the most up to date data I can put together. The data sent out is primarily Two-Line Element Sets, but also some AMSAT format element sets, and often both. Normally you will receive one pre-launch element set (if available) well before the flight, and updates to that if the launch date/time changes. After launch, you can expect to get about one element set per day until landing. This mailing list is a read-only list for subscribers, it is not a discussion list. Submissions to the list are by prior arrangement only. To be added or removed from the mailing list send a message including your Internet mailing address to: "elements-request@alsys.com" (3) Retrieving recent element sets. The most recent set of NORAD elements for a variety of spacecraft (as posted by Dr. TS Kelso) can always be retrieved with the archive server command (this is automatically updated when Dr. Kelso sends new data, about once a week): "send element-sets/last-elements" The most recent set of Space Shuttle elements (as it was sent to the elements mailing list) can be retrieved with the archive server command: "send last-shuttle-elset" Older element sets can be retrieved from the element-sets directory or from the directory for the particular shuttle mission. Use the command "send index" to find the name of the particular file you want. If you are or know a teacher, and they would like some teaching material posters or pictures, have them write to the following address with the pertinent information : NASA PA - ESB Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899 To receive the "NASA Report To Educators" and other NASA publications, write to the address below : Educational Publications Services Mail Code XEP NASA Headquarters Washington, DC 20546 Serving inquiries related to space exploration and other activities: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Teacher Resource Center JPL Educational Outreach 4800 Oak Grove Drive Mail Code CS-530 Pasadena, CA 91109 (818) 354-6916 Fax: (818) 354-8080 If you're interested a phone number and address you can contact for public information from JPL concerning unmanned planetary exploration: (818) 354 - 5011 Public Information c/o JPL 4800 Oak Grove Drive Pasadena, CA 91109 Serving all states through workshops and materials: National Air and Space Museum Smithsonian Institution Education Resource Center, MRC 305 Washington, DC 20560 (202) 786-2109 Fax: (202) 786-2262 -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ken Hollis INTERNET: HOLLIS@TITAN.KSC.NASA.GOV SPAN/HEPnet: KSCP00::HOLLIS Dizzyclaimer: If you believe this is in any way, shape, or form actual official information or opinion,then you are probably as confused if not more so than I am...I think...