Relaying this information since there are likely several interested Amateur Radio operators within range ...

The Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule reported today that the ISS contact scheduled for Saturday, August 7 with the Boy Scout Space Jamboree in Rantoul, IL has been aborted due to the cooling problems on the ISS. Rantoul, IL is approximately 100 miles south of Chicago and 15 miles north of the University of Illinois in Champaign.

Space Jam has posted a message inviting amateur radio operators in IL, IN, WI, OH, MO, KY and beyond to monitor VHF and UHF for a dual balloon launch with Amateur Radio aboard on August 7:

Balloon 1 --------- DePauw University Balloon Assisted Stratospheric Experiments (BASE) project Flight 48

Scheduled to launch approx. August 7 08:00 CT from Rantoul, IL

APRS Tracking 144.390 MHz using callsign N9QGS-11 every one minute with no path.

DominoEX-22 followed by 300 baud ASCII RTTY (200 hz shift) every minute with Morse code ID every 5 minutes. Flight can be tracked at http://www.spacenear.us/tracker

Amateur Television from balloon on 439.25 MHz NTSC Flight scheduled for 1000/ft ascent till burst at ~95,000ft

Balloon 2 --------- DePauw University Balloon Assisted Stratospheric Experiments (BASE) project Flight 49.

Scheduled to launch approx. August 7 08:30 CT from Rantoul, IL

APRS Tracking 144.390 MHz using callsign W9YJ-11 every one minute with no path.

Cross band repeater with no PL, please check in with net control Input: 144.360 MHz Output: 446.025 MHz

A float valve will be used to keep repeater up at 60,000+ feet for approx. 90 minutes; Estimated time for cross band maximum range estimated between 1430 UTC till 1600 UTC. Estimated time above 45,000 feet between 1415 UTC till 1630 UTC.

Balloon 2 will also transmit DominoEX-22 and RTTY 300 baud (200 spacing) ASCII every minute on 147.45 MHz (or very close to that frequency) with changes/updates planned to be tweeted on: http://twitter.com/base_depauw

The launch crew will appreciate signal reports, or participation.

How to follow the action on the internet: You can track the balloons using APRS technology at: http://tinyurl.com/2ed2u85

Watch decoded DominoEX/RTTY flight data at: http://spacenear.us/tracker

Space Jamboree information: http://spacejamboree.com

Posting at QRZ.com with updates & comments: http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?t=258523

-- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm@amsat.org Editor, AMSAT News Service Copy Editor, AMSAT Journal