Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report
July 9, 2012
1. Upcoming School Contacts
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been slated for Women in STEM High School Aerospace Scholars in Houston, Texas on Tuesday, July 10 at 15:17 UTC using ground station W6SRJ in California for the telebridge. The contact is part of a comprehensive education plan which will pique students interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).
ESA Space Camp, which will be held at St. Columbas College, Whitechurch, Dublin, Ireland, has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Sunday, July 22 at 17:25 UTC via telebridge station W6SRJ in California. The ARISS contact is part of an educational program of which some activities are based around André Kuipers mission, Spaceship Earth. Children at the camp will have 2 weeks of space education covering the themes of Climate, Biodiversity and the Human Body as well as Earth Observation and the Solar System. The children will also receive lessons about how we communicate with the crew on the ISS from a ham radio expert.
2. Nunavik Youth Connect with ISS
On July 4, youth attending the Cirqiniq Summer Camp in Kuujjuaq, Quebec (Nunavik), Canada spoke with on-orbit astronaut Joe Acaba, KE5DAR via an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact. Telebridge station K6DUE in Greenbelt, Maryland provided the radio connection. The contact was held in conjunction with a circus camp being offered to youth, ages 13 to 17, in Nunavik that was led by a group of instructors affiliated with Cirque du Soleil®. The campers learned tight-wire walking, aerial acrobatics and juggling among other skills and ended the session with a parade and community show. This years theme was Planets and the Universe. Local media covered the event.
3. ARRL Article on ISS Crew Change
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) ran a story in its July 5 ARRL Letter about the crew change taking place on the ISS. Trio from ISS Lands Safely In Kazakhstan may be viewed at: http://www.arrl.org/news/trio-from-iss-lands-safely-in-kazakhstan
4. Amateur Radio Newsline Covers ARISS
The July 6 Amateur Radio Newsline report #1821 included an article on Penn State University students who have designed a new supercapacitor battery for the next ARISSat. For more information, see Ham Radio in Space: Students Design Supercapacitor Battery for ARISSat at: http://www.arnewsline.org/storage/scripts/nsln1821.txt