Historic NASA Firsts in Polar Communications

1983-84 First Commercial Satellite links to Antarctica were set up on Black Island, 24 miles south of McMurdo, for voice and data to the world

South Pole Satellite Data Link Problem: How to get high volume data from 90S to CONUS every day. Background: No standard phone services HF Radio only Geostationary Satellites cannot see above 810 No polar-orbiting communications satellites Solution: Use existing Polar-orbiting science satellites with bent-pipe transponders

South Pole Satellite Data Relay – First satellite communications across Antarctica – Used Polar-orbiting satellites to link South Pole and McMurdo

Dual Tracking Antennas are tested at Goddard

We had to build a snow ramp and make a crane out of a forklift

First Satellite Antenna at South Pole - 1984

256kB Floppy - 1984

First Phone Calls and Email from South Pole – Used NASA’s 17-year old ATS Geosynchronous Satellite starting on December 15, 1984 until recently for several hours every day.

Advanced Technology Satellite #3 (ATS-3) Launched in 1967 Commanded Off 2006

Apple IIc – First computers Along with Dec 11-01 /02 Used for SPSDL GSFC Bldg 16W

FIRST SATELLITE PHONE CALL FROM SOUTH POLE (90s) December 15, 1984

FIRST EMAIL SENT FROM SOUTH POLE – DECEMBER 15, 1984

SPSDL Field Team at 90S Back Row: NASA Mike, Dwight Veney, Dave Provost Front Row: Tony Comberiate, Joel Gallun, Mike Lewis

Amundsen – Scott Station in December, 1984

Orange NASA Radome Became a Landmark for The South Pole Station

First Long Duration Scientific Balloon Launches from Antarctica – 18 January 1988 Gamma Ray Detector (GRAD) started annual launches from McMurdo, which circumnavigate the Earth and return.

Gamma Ray Detector (GRAD)

The Science Payload is in a spacecraft-like Gondola As the Balloon rises it lifts the Gondola off the moving crane. It starts off as big as a house and ends up as big as an entire football Stadium.

1995 – 1997: Ozone Image data from the TOMS-EP satellite was collected routinely from McMurdo and images produce were posted on the Internet immediately. Then NSF Scientists in Antarctica use the images to launch balloons into the Ozone Hole.

Typical Map of 15 orbits per day updated every orbit Typical Map of 15 orbits per day updated every orbit. These realtime maps were made in McMurdo as the TOMS-EP satellite passed over. Balloon Scientists used them to know when to launch their balloons into the Ozone Hole

Late1980’s Polar-orbiting satellites were tracked routinely to provide weather forecasting information to McMurdo and others in Antarctica

January 1995: The First full-scale, NASA Satellite Ground Station in Antarctica was commissioned in McMurdo.

January 1997: The Tumbling NOAA-13 satellite was successfully commanded using the sunlight reflected off Antarctica to light up the solar arrays and enable the command receive system. Nothing else had worked for two years prior.

April 1999: First Telemedicine via satellite link to South Pole April 1999: First Telemedicine via satellite link to South Pole. NASA’s TDRS-F1 satellite was successfully used to provide a two way video service to the South Pole so Doctors in USA could direct an operation. On the South Pole Doctor.

NASA-GSFC designs and builds these Tracking & Data Relay Satellites (TDRS) They sit out at Geosynchronous orbits and point at Low orbiting satellites. Our Portable TDRS Internet Link Terminal on the ground worked like a satellite.

Air Dropping Medical and Telecommunications equipment to 90S in the dark for Telemedicine

Air National Guard Landed at the Pole in the Dark to airlift Dr Nielsen out

NASA at the North Pole Problem: How to bring the Internet to scientists working near 90N Background: None No commercial telecom satellites can see above 81N Solution: NASA has it’s own TDRS satellites in geosynchronous orbits Connect to the Internet From the TDRS Earth Station in NM Develop a portable TDRS terminal Demonstrate the capabilities with a COOL SPACE team Produce Live Webcasts on route Produce other historic milestones when possible

First time Water from 90S was directly mixed with Water from 90N – April, 1995

We had to first prove that we could see a TDRS satellite from 78S and send data to the USA, 1991 It worked at 300 Million bits per second !

North Pole Communications Firsts

28 April 1999: First Pole-to-Pole Phone Call 28 April 1999: First Pole-to-Pole Phone Call. NASA’s TDRS-F1 Satellite at South Pole and NASA Mike’s team at North Pole with Iridium Sat-phone.

2001 –Live Distance Learning Interactive Webcasts @ 75N (Resolute Bay, Canada) & 80N (Eureka, Canada)

Live Webcasts every day between 75N and 90N were done via the TDRS-F1 satellite, April 1999

Drilling thru Ice Floe at 86N to get thickness There was no ground truth data before April 1999

North Pole 1999 Field Team from NASA-GSFC, with Teachers and Students

First Total Solar Eclipse via Internet Live From Aruba 26 Feb 1998 Not Polar but very special anyway !!

1998 – First Live Internet broadcast of a Total Solar Eclipse (TILT system in Aruba, Feb 26. 1998)

First Interactive Classroom webcasted from 90 N

Kevin Ballou, GSFC Engineer calls White Sands on the Iridium Satellite phone to re-point the satellite to our location 75N Canada

Our final trip to 90N was with the Russians We landed at 89 Our final trip to 90N was with the Russians We landed at 89.5N in an AN-74 jet and then took an Mi-8 Helicopter the rest of the way

Mi-8 At the North Pole Ice was less than 3-meters thick, unless moving floes overlap.

2003 North Pole Field Team at 89.6 N, about to fly the AN-74 back to 78N The team had 25: Engineers, Teachers, Students measuring Sea Ice Depth and Surface Properties to help Satellites Monitor Global Warming. Our in situ data correlated the surface properties, which satellites can measure, with the amount of ice beneath the surface of the water.

Autonomous Robots in the Polar Regions Nanook is roaming the Mars-like hills in McMurdo, Antarctica while being controlled from Goddard, Jan 2008

Nanook took this LIDAR 3D Image in the dark at -40C on the frozen sea ice above Barrow, Alaska, in Jan 2008 [colors show distance from the robot]

Autonomous Greenland Rover Built at GSFC by College Students

This Advanced Version is in Greenland

Nanook – Autonomous Robot in McMurdo controlled from CONUS

Mars Analog in Antarctica

Point Barrow, Alaska – Nanook- LIDAR Imaging Autonomous Robot

Summer 2013 GROVER in Greenland @ Summit Operated locally and remotely from USA

NASA Mike walking around the World at the 90N Pole, April 28, 1999

NASA Mike Walking around the world at 90S, November 1983 (one of Many years )