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October 2020

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ARISS News Release No. 20-18
by David Jordan 30 Sep '20

30 Sep '20

ARISS News Release No. 20-18 Dave Jordan, AA4KN ARISS PR aa4kn(a)amsat.org FORIMMEDIATE RELEASE Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on theInternational Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals New Proposal Window is October 1st, 2020 to November 24, 2020 September30, 2020 --- The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions andorganizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radiocontact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between July 1, 2021 and December 30, 2021. Crew scheduling andISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radiocontact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw largenumbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developededucation plan. Thedeadline to submit a proposal is November 24th, 2020. Proposalinformation and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and theproposal form can be found at www.ariss.org. An ARISSIntroductory Webinar session will be held on October 8, 2020 at 8 PMET. The Eventbrite link to sign up is: https://ariss-proposal-webinar-fall-2020.eventbrite.com The Opportunity Crewmembers aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduledAmateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes inlength and allow students to interact with the astronauts through aquestion-and-answer session. AnARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radiobetween astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms andcommunities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learnfirsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and tolearn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunityto learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science.Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of schedulingactivities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility toaccommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. AmateurRadio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and spaceagencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizationswith this opportunity. The ham radio organizations’ volunteer efforts providethe equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew onthe ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. Pleasedirect any questions to ariss.us.education(a)gmail.com. About ARISS: Amateur Radio on the InternationalSpace Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radiosocieties and the space agencies that support the International Space Station(ISS). In the United States, sponsorsare the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio RelayLeague (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, and NASA’s SpaceCommunications and Navigation program. The primary goal of ARISS is to promoteexploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematicstopics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew membersaboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students,educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, andamateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org MediaContact: DaveJordan, AA4KN ARISSPR Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Search on Amateur Radio onthe ISS and @ARISS_status.

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Sad Tale of a New Rover
by Mark Johns, K0JM 30 Sep '20

30 Sep '20

I've been at this satellite thing for more than 35 years, so when a family trip took me through some relatively rare grids in Nebraska last week, I thought it would be a great chance to try out my new FT-818 on a rove. Looks like fun, and how hard can it be? Well, this old satellite hand had forgotten many of the skills needed back before I built a capable, computer-controlled station. I didn't practice enough with the new rig at home, I didn't get familiar enough with the location apps, and I assumed too much expertise on the part of the operator. In fact, I couldn't even find the grid line correctly! And on another pass, I couldn't even hear the bird (still working on what happened there). So, moral of the story, sometimes getting out of one's comfort zone and trying something different is a good thing. But doing so requires some humility. Some things are harder than they look, whether it's building and launching a satellite, or just working one from a gravel road in Nebraska. My hat is off to the successful rovers across the nation. And I shall work on (re)learning the necessary basic skills before setting out again. (P.S., if you were one of the stations I worked from the "grid line," the LoTW upload has been corrected. Sorry, it was only EN11.) -- Mark D. Johns, KØJM AMSAT Ambassador & News Service Editor Brooklyn Park, MN USA EN35hd ----------------------------------------------- "Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in." ---Mark Twain

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