Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report
July 16, 2012
1. Upcoming School Contact
ESA Space Camp, which is being 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 to communicate with the crew on the ISS from a ham radio expert.
2. ARISS Contact with Women in STEM
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was held with Women in STEM High School Aerospace Scholars in Houston, Texas on Tuesday, July 10 via telebridge station W6SRJ in California. The high school girls came from across the U.S. to participate in the program which provided them the opportunity to plan a space exploration mission and to learn from women that work at NASA. Joe Acaba, KE5DAR on ISS answered 23 questions during the Q&A session. Approximately 150 students and guests were present for the event. Video may be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igM-2qegJWo&feature=youtu.be
3. ARISS Exhibit at Moon Day 2012
Moon Day 2012 will be held at the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Love Field in Dallas, Texas on July 21 to commemorate Neil Armstrongs walk on the moon on July 21, 1969. The event will feature space exhibits, demonstrations and other space activities. AMSAT and ARISS will set up a booth to showcase amateur radio satellites including a model of the Fox-1 satellite and will provide and distribute information on the ARISS program. http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/event-view.cfm?Event_ID=37613
4. Expedition 30/31Crew Scheduled for Debrief
Astronauts Don Pettit and André Kuipers (Expedition 30/31) will take part in a debrief session to give feedback on the ARISS program. The debrief is currently scheduled for August 15.
5. AMSAT News Service on ARISS
On July 15, AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) posted an article in its News Service bulletin (ANS-197) on the Soyuz TMA-05M crew that was launched on July 15 and is headed toward the Space Station. NASA TV to Cover Three Hams Docking at ISS may be found at: http://amsat.org/pipermail/ans/2012/000634.html
6. ARRL Covers ARISS News
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) ran a story in its July 12 ARRL Letter about the new crew members joining Expedition 32 on the ISS. Three Hams Scheduled to Head to ISS This Weekend may be viewed at:
http://www.arrl.org/news/three-hams-scheduled-to-head-to-iss-this-weekend
ARRLs August QST included a few ARISS items as well:
There was a long article about long-haul truckers who enjoy Amateur Radio contacts on the road, made from their rigs. Author Norm Fusaro (W3IZ) reported about one particular trucker, "Of the thousands of contacts he has made from his truck John recalls making a packet connection to the International Space Station as one of his most memorable contacts. John said he made this contact at a rest stop."
A short article in the "Up Front" column covered ARISS team member Farrell Winder, W8ZCF, and Jeff Winder, KB8VCO, who described how they and two other hams worldwide managed to make a 70 cm SSTV contact via ARISSat-1 late last year. Farrell said it was "a lot of hard earned fun, challenge and education."
Farrell was on the ARISS team.