SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468
Mar. 23, 2007
John Yembrick
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0602
John Ira Petty
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
STATUS REPORT: SS07-14
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION STATUS REPORT: SS07-14
HOUSTON - The Expedition 14 crew continued work this week on
scientific experiments and increased the bandwidth on the
International Space Station's computer network.
Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Suni Williams
spent time working with experiments that may hold the key to several
aspects of long-duration space flight as NASA looks forward to
missions back to the moon and on to Mars or other destinations.
Each served as test subject and operator for the Anomalous Long Term
Effects in Astronauts' Central Nervous System experiment that
examines how cosmic radiation affects brain waves. As test subjects,
they wore an electroencephalograph cap that records readings of their
brain functions, and over that, a special helmet with
Italian-designed instruments that records the amount and types of
cosmic rays passing through the station. Since cosmic radiation is
even more prevalent at greater distances from Earth, the research
could lead to countermeasures important to the safety and
productivity of future explorers.
Lopez-Alegria and Williams also worked with the Nutritional Status
Assessment experiment tracking how their bodies process nutrients in
space and how food supplies are affected by storage in that
environment.
Additionally, Lopez-Alegria provided the final samples associated with
the Renal Stone Risk during Spaceflight: Assessment and
Countermeasure Validation investigation, which is looking at the
space effectiveness of a drug used on Earth to prevent kidney stones.
Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin worked with three Russian experiments
that monitor cosmic rays and background radiation as they relate to
long-duration flights and documented the condition of the Earth below
from the unique vantage point of the station.
The crew worked on an upgrade to the laptop computer network. The new,
integrated station computer network will be 10 times faster than the
current network, using Ethernet connectivity over a router and either
cables or wireless equipment. This will eliminate drag-through cables
from the U.S. segment into the Russian segment. The work was
accelerated because of the STS-117 launch delay.
They also continued preparations for the undocking and discarding of
the ISS Progress 23 cargo ship, which will be full of trash when it
departs Tuesday, March 27. Russian flight controllers sent commands
Friday that piped the last of the Progress 23 oxygen supplies into
the station, and vented the Progress' propellant and oxidizer lines
overboard to ensure a safe departure. The Progress is scheduled to
undock at 1:11 p.m. CDT next Tuesday.
The station traffic schedule includes next Thursday's relocation of
the Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft from the Earth-facing port of the Zarya
module to the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module. All three crew
members will undock the Soyuz at 5:25 p.m. and redock at 5:53 p.m.
This will make room for the arrival of the Soyuz TMA-10 spacecraft
carrying the Expedition 15 crew and U.S. spaceflight participant
Charles Simonyi. The new crew is scheduled to launch from the
Baikanour Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan April 7 at 12:31 p.m. and dock
with the station April 9 at 2:15 p.m.
Following a week of joint operations, Lopez-Alegria, Tyurin and
Simonyi will climb into Soyuz TMA-9 and head for home April 20. They
will leave Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov
on board with Williams to start Expedition 15.
For more about the crew's activities and station sighting
opportunities, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/station
-end-
Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2007-03-23 20:00 UTC
Quick list of scheduled contacts and events:
Juvenile Space Club in Tatsuno, Tatsunomachi, Nagano-pref, Japan, direct via
8J0T
Sat 2007-03-24 00:39 UTC 80 deg
Simulcast on Echolink
International School of Brussels, B-1170 Brussels, Belgium, telebridge via
NN1SS
Tue 2007-03-27 13:45 UTC 31 deg via NN1SS
Contact will be simulcast on Echolink, IRLP, and the web.
Glenden State School, Glenden, Queensland, Australia, direct via VK4KHZ (***)
Wed 2007-04-04 22:39 UTC 65 deg (***)
St Michael’s Primary School, Daceyville, NSW, Australia, direct via
VK2KVE(***)
Thu 2007-04-05 23:00 UTC 66 deg (***)
Total number of ARISS school contacts is 275.
QSL information may be found at:
http://www.arrl.org/ARISS/arissfaq.htmlhttp://www.rac.ca/ariss/oindex.htm#QSL's
ISS callsigns: DP0ISS, NA1SS, RS0ISS
*****************************************************************************
The schedule page has been updated as of 2007-03-23 20:00 UTC.
Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and
questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions
for any contact that may be streamed live.
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt
The successful school list has been updated as of 2007-03-19 16:00 UTC
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf
Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing
Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correctio…
tf
Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf
*****************************************************************************
There has been a rumor that the ISS was having direct contacts on the 40
meter band. There is no HF radio equipment on board and available yet. The HF
antenna is mounted. Sometimes WA3NAN will retransmit shuttle audio.
*****************************************************************************
Expedition 14 on orbit:
Michael Lopez-Alegria KE5GTK
Mikhail Tyurin, RZ3FT
Expedition 14/15 on orbit:
Sunita Williams, KD5PLB
*****************************************************************************
73,
Charlie Sufana AJ9N
One of the ARISS operation team mentors
************************************** AOL now offers free email to everyone.
Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
An International Space Station Expedition 14 ARISS school contact has
been planned with students at International School of Brussels,
Brussels, Belgium on 27 Mar. The event is scheduled to begin at
approximately 13:45 UTC.
The contact will be a telebridge between stations NA1SS and NN1SS. The
contact should be audible in portions of Central and Eastern North
America. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz
downlink. Additional listening options are listed below. The
participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English.
IRLP - Connect to the IRLP reflector 9010.
You may also connect via the IRLP Discovery website at
http://www.discoveryreflector.ca/listen.htm.
EchoLink - The audio from this contact will be available on the
EchoLink *AMSAT* (node 101 377) and the *JK1ZRW* (node 277 208)
conference rooms. Please connect to the *JK1ZRW* server to keep the load
light on the *AMSAT* server. This will ensure good audio quality for
all listeners.
_________________________________
AUDIO STREAMING AND AUDIO REPLAY PARTICIPANT INFORMATION:
To join the event:
URL: https://e-meetings.mci.com
CONFERENCE NUMBER: 6604852
PASSCODE: SPACE STATIO
To access the Audio Replay of this call, all parties can:
1. Go to the URL listed above.
2. Choose Audio Streaming under Join Events.
3. Enter the conference number and passcode. (Note that if this is a
recurring event, multiple dates may be listed.) Replays are available
for 30 days after the live event.
_________________________________
The East Aurora Union Free School District is currently educating
approximately 2040 students in four schools: Parkdale Elementary (K-2),
Main Street Elementary (3-5), the Middle School (6-8) and the High
School (9-12). We serve a Town of Aurora population of nearly 14,000
residents.
Our students consistently rank within the region's top schools in
measures of academic achievement, and the community regularly
demonstrates solid support for its schools. Our website address is
www.eaur.wnyric.org.
East Aurora Middle School, led by Principal Jeffrey Banks, has a
population of approximately 500 students and 37 staff members. The staff
of the East Aurora Middle School is committed to excellence in
education. We feel that it is vital to show enthusiasm for learning and
hope that children want to attend our school. We believe that attendance
at school each day is very important and we communicate that attitude to
our students.
Students will ask as many of the following questions as time allows:
1. What is the goal and purpose for your Mission?
2. Do you think there will be the ability and technology for regular
people to travel to space in the near future?
3. How much food and liquid do you drink each day and is it difficult
because you are weightless?
4. What time is it on the space station and how do you know when it's
nighttime?
5. What is a typical day like on the space station?
6. Is it dangerous to live on the space station?
7. How do you use the bathroom in space?
8. Is everyday interesting on the Space Station or do you get bored?
9. How long have you been on the space station and how long will you
expect to stay?
10. When you come back to earth, will it be hard to readjust to gravity?
11. Is this your first trip into space?
12. Do you believe that sending people to Mars is the most efficient use
of public money?
13. How many people are on the space station and do you ever fight with
one another?
14. How do you wash yourself? Is there a shower?
15. Why did you choose this dangerous work?
16. Do you miss Earth, your family and friends?
17. How do you breathe and where does the oxygen come from?
18. What are you able to see outside?
19. How did you get to be an astronaut?
20. Do you believe that there could be extraterrestrial intelligent
creatures?
Please note, the amateur equipment on the ISS is not functioning in the
automatic modes properly and may be silent more than usual. Information
about the next scheduled ARISS contact can be found at
http://www.rac.ca/ariss/upcoming.htm#NextContact .
Next planned event(s):
Glenden State School, Glenden, Queensland, Australia, direct via VK4KHZ,
Wed 2007-04-04 22:39 UTC
St. Michael's Primary School, Daceyville, NSW, Australia, direct via
VK2KVE, Thu 2007-04-05 23:00 UTC
ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the
participating space agencies, NASA, Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES,
JAXA, and CSA, with the AMSAT and IARU organizations from participating
countries.
ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of
Amateur Radio by talking directly with crewmembers on-board the
International Space Station. Teachers, parents and communities see,
first hand, how Amateur Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize
youngsters' interest in science, technology, and learning. Further
information on the ARISS program is available on the website
http://www.rac.ca/ariss (graciously hosted by the Radio Amateurs of
Canada).
Thank you & 73,
Kenneth - N5VHO
Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2007-03-23 17:00 UTC
Quick list of scheduled contacts and events:
Juvenile Space Club in Tatsuno, Tatsunomachi, Nagano-pref, Japan, direct via
8J0T
Sat 2007-03-24 00:39 UTC 80 deg
Simulcast on Echolink
International School of Brussels, B-1170 Brussels, Belgium, telebridge via
NN1SS
Tue 2007-03-27 13:45 UTC 31 deg via NN1SS
Contact will be simulcast on Echolink, IRLP, and the web. (***)
Total number of ARISS school contacts is 275.
QSL information may be found at:
http://www.arrl.org/ARISS/arissfaq.htmlhttp://www.rac.ca/ariss/oindex.htm#QSL's
ISS callsigns: DP0ISS, NA1SS, RS0ISS
*****************************************************************************
The schedule page has been updated as of 2007-03-23 17:00 UTC.
Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and
questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions
for any contact that may be streamed live.
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt
The successful school list has been updated as of 2007-03-19 16:00 UTC
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf
Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing
Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correctio…
tf
Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf
*****************************************************************************
There has been a rumor that the ISS was having direct contacts on the 40
meter band. There is no HF radio equipment on board and available yet. The HF
antenna is mounted. Sometimes WA3NAN will retransmit shuttle audio.
*****************************************************************************
Expedition 14 on orbit:
Michael Lopez-Alegria KE5GTK
Mikhail Tyurin, RZ3FT
Expedition 14/15 on orbit:
Sunita Williams, KD5PLB
*****************************************************************************
73,
Charlie Sufana AJ9N
One of the ARISS operation team mentors
************************************** AOL now offers free email to everyone.
Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N10RC - AMSAT A/C #31468
*NASA Managers Assess Shuttle Repair Work*
Image above: Atlantis sits inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, while
repair work continues on the external tank. Photo credit: NASA/Jack
Pfaller + View High-res Image
<http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/170421main_07pd0645.jpe>
+ View Hail Damage to External Tank
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/multimedia/117_gallery-hail.html>
TO VIEW IMAGE AND DAMAGE GO TO:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html
*
03.21.07 - 8:30 p.m. EDT*
During a media teleconference Wednesday, March 21, NASA officials
discussed the status of repair work to Space Shuttle Atlantis' external
fuel tank, which was damaged during a Feb. 26 hail storm at NASA's
Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The teleconference followed a meeting to
assess the ongoing work. Managers decided that more testing and analysis
are needed to determine whether the tank will be used for the upcoming
STS-117 flight or whether the tank will be replaced. On April 10, the
teams expect to have the necessary data to make that decision and to
establish a potential target launch date.
All the hail damage spots on the tank have been mapped out. Repair work
has been completed on the bottom portion of the tank, the liquid
hydrogen section. The damage on the middle part of the tank, or
innertank, was superficial and will require little or no repair. There
are 2,500 dings, mostly in the top of the tank, that will be reviewed to
determine what type of repair technique may be required.
During the STS-117's 11-day mission, the six-member crew will install a
new truss segment, retract a set of solar arrays and unfold a new set on
the starboard side of the station. Lessons learned from two previous
missions will provide the astronauts with new techniques and tools to
perform their duties.
Atlantis Commander Rick Sturckow, Pilot Lee Archambault and Mission
Specialists Jim Reilly, Patrick Forrester, Steven Swanson and John
"Danny" Olivas will continue training at NASA's Johnson Space Center in
Houston as they await a new target launch date.
*STS-117 Mission*
+ The Crew
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts117/index.html>
+ The Mission
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts117/mission_ov…>
+ The Integrated Truss Structure
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/its.html>
SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468
*Crew Continues Experiments, Prepares for Cable Installation*
Image above: Expedition 14 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria works in the
Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station. Image credit:
NASA
TO VIEW IMAGE GO TO:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
The Expedition 14 crew members continued work on several experiments
that included monitoring sleep/wake patterns and light exposure and
collecting blood and urine samples for later evaluation. Another
experiment measures details about cosmic radiation and its interactions
with astronauts’ central nervous systems.
The crew also made preparations for Thursday’s and Friday’s installation
of network cabling, clearing out stowage gear to provide the necessary
access. The crew members also stowed trash and discarded equipment in
the ISS Progress 23 cargo ship which is scheduled to undock from the
station and burn on re-entry on March 27.
Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2007-03-21 22:30 UTC
Quick list of scheduled contacts and events:
Juvenile Space Club in Tatsuno, Tatsunomachi, Nagano-pref, Japan, direct via
8J0T
Sat 2007-03-24 00:39 UTC 80 deg
Simulcast on Echolink
International School of Brussels, B-1170 Brussels, Belgium, telebridge via
NN1SS
Tue 2007-03-27 13:45 UTC 31 deg via NN1SS
Total number of ARISS school contacts is 275.
QSL information may be found at:
http://www.arrl.org/ARISS/arissfaq.htmlhttp://www.rac.ca/ariss/oindex.htm#QSL's
ISS callsigns: DP0ISS, NA1SS, RS0ISS
*****************************************************************************
The schedule page has been updated as of 2007-03-21 22:30 UTC.
Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and
questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions
for any contact that may be streamed live.
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt
The successful school list has been updated as of 2007-03-19 16:00 UTC
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf
Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing
Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correctio…
tf
Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf
*****************************************************************************
There has been a rumor that the ISS was having direct contacts on the 40
meter band. There is no HF radio equipment on board and available yet. The HF
antenna is mounted. Sometimes WA3NAN will retransmit shuttle audio.
*****************************************************************************
Expedition 14 on orbit:
Michael Lopez-Alegria KE5GTK
Mikhail Tyurin, RZ3FT
Expedition 14/15 on orbit:
Sunita Williams, KD5PLB
*****************************************************************************
73,
Charlie Sufana AJ9N
One of the ARISS operation team mentors
************************************** AOL now offers free email to everyone.
Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2007-03-21 18:00 UTC
Quick list of scheduled contacts and events:
Juvenile Space Club in Tatsuno, Tatsunomachi, Nagano-pref, Japan, direct via
8J0T
Sat 2007-03-24 00:39 UTC 80 deg
Simulcast on Echolink (***)
International School of Brussels, B-1170 Brussels, Belgium, telebridge via
NN1SS
Tue 2007-03-27 13:45 UTC 31 deg via NN1SS
Total number of ARISS school contacts is 275.
QSL information may be found at:
http://www.arrl.org/ARISS/arissfaq.htmlhttp://www.rac.ca/ariss/oindex.htm#QSL's
ISS callsigns: DP0ISS, NA1SS, RS0ISS
*****************************************************************************
The schedule page has been updated as of 2007-03-21 18:00 UTC.
Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and
questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions
for any contact that may be streamed live.
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt
The successful school list has been updated as of 2007-03-19 16:00 UTC
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf
Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing
Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correctio…
tf
Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf
*****************************************************************************
There has been a rumor that the ISS was having direct contacts on the 40
meter band. There is no HF radio equipment on board and available yet. The HF
antenna is mounted. Sometimes WA3NAN will retransmit shuttle audio.
*****************************************************************************
Expedition 14 on orbit:
Michael Lopez-Alegria KE5GTK
Mikhail Tyurin, RZ3FT
Expedition 14/15 on orbit:
Sunita Williams, KD5PLB
*****************************************************************************
73,
Charlie Sufana AJ9N
One of the ARISS operation team mentors
************************************** AOL now offers free email to everyone.
Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
An International Space Station Expedition 14 ARISS school contact has
been planned with students at Juvenile Space Club in Tatsuno,
Tatsunomachi, Nagano-pref, Japan on 24 March. The event is scheduled to
begin at approximately 00:39 UTC.
The contact will be a direct between stations NA1SS and 8J0T. The
contact should be audible in Japan and portions of Eastern Asia.
Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink.
The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English.
This rather smaller sized town has about 22,000 in population, is
located about 2,450ft above sea level and surrounded by several
mountains. These mountains are called part of the roof of Japan.
In the town, there are 5 elementary schools and one junior high school.
Because plenty of nature remains, it is good habitable place, but most
children are living in a closed or isolated area, geographically and
even from the information lines. Under these surroundings, 20 children,
gathered from 3 elementary schools, are now ready to make contact with
an astronaut on the ISS, after about 7 months of extra studies.
Before August 2006, they did not know that the ISS existed and several
astronauts are working in space. Of course there was no opportunity to
speak English. After starting extra classroom work, they opened their
eyes for space and took in much knowledge concerning the ISS, Space
Shuttles, Space and English as well, like a sponge sucks up water. The
members consist of 8 girls and 12 boys, who are from 10 years to 12
years old. As you can see, queries made by boys are focused on the
Hardware of ISS and many queries by girls are regarding the human life
in the ISS.
Beginning in April, all 12 year-old children will go to the same junior
high school in the town and subjects like natural science and English
will be started for them. However, those children, who are member of
this Space Club, will enjoy for learning the new subjects because they
already have opened the first door by themselves.
The extra classroom studies were assisted by 8 Amateur Radio Operators
who all of them are quite familiar with the satellite communications. A
special lecture, given by JAXA personnel in the September 2006 has
brought a confidence for them to start new school life.
Students will ask as many of the following questions as time allows:
1. On the ISS, can you watch normal television programs on the earth?
2. In the ISS, is the bath system installed?
3. How do astronauts in the ISS deal with heavy stress built up?
4. How will you do in case of the ISS gets damaged and faces breaking
up?
5. On the ISS which country's time zone is used?
6. Display of the fire works are held on the earth. Can you see those
fire works from the space?
7. After your return to the earth, what will be the very first thing you
do?
8. What is the room temperature inside of the ISS?
9. Do you always wear the same clothes while you are living in the ISS?
10. During your stay for almost half a year in the space, do you not
feel lonely?
11. Has the ISS had ever been struck by meteorites?
12. What is the hardest thing about your work on the ISS?
13. How do you dispose of waste from the ISS?
14. Does you body weight fluctuate during your stay in the ISS?
15. Is it possible to make a phone call from the ISS to anyone on the
earth?
16. How often do you talk to your family over the phone?
17. Have you ever seen shooting stars from the ISS?
18. Do you have time to read books during your stay in the ISS?
19. Was it your dream to be an astronaut when you were a kid?
20. Do you have any wish to have another variety of space foods in the
future, over?
21. Can you now cultivate and eat any vegetable on the ISS?
22. Is it possible to catch other satellite by hand during the space
walk?
23. Did you take any special celebration on the last Christmas day in
the space?
24. I am 12 years old. If I have decided to be an astronaut in my mind,
are there any particular things which I have to do now for it?
25. Why ISS does not maintain more higher altitude from the earth?
Please note, the amateur equipment on the ISS is not functioning in the
automatic modes properly and may be silent more than usual. Information
about the next scheduled ARISS contact can be found at
http://www.rac.ca/ariss/upcoming.htm#NextContact .
Next planned event(s):
International School of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium, telebridge via
NN1SS Tue 2007-03-27 13:45 UTC
ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the
participating space agencies, NASA, Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES,
JAXA, and CSA, with the AMSAT and IARU organizations from participating
countries.
ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of
Amateur Radio by talking directly with crewmembers on-board the
International Space Station. Teachers, parents and communities see,
first hand, how Amateur Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize
youngsters' interest in science, technology, and learning. Further
information on the ARISS program is available on the website
http://www.rac.ca/ariss (graciously hosted by the Radio Amateurs of
Canada).
Thank you & 73,
Kenneth - N5VHO