Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report May 2, 2011
1. Upcoming School Contacts
The ARISS team is working on the school contact schedule. The next contacts to be held are dependent on the launch date of STS-134.
2. Recent ARISS Contacts
Cadets from the Italian Air Force Academy in Pozzuoli, Italy took part in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Thursday, April 28 via telebridge station LU1CGB in Argentina. The audience consisted of 400 officers, students, teachers, visitors and media who watched as students put 10 questions to ISS astronaut Paolo Nespoli, IZØJPA. Greetings were exchanged during the time remaining. The activity, integrated into the aerospace engineering curriculum, also drew interest from the scientific community.
On Friday, April 29, an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was held between Cady Coleman, KC5ZTH on the ISS and students attending Ecole Primaire de Larochette (Fiels) in Larochette (Fiels), Luxembourg. Telebridge station WH6PN in Hawaii provided the radio link. Coleman fielded 20 space-related questions put to her by the youth. The radio contact was the culmination of a science program covering space exploration, communications and human spaceflight.
Scuola Secondaria I Grado "M.Maccioni" Nuoro, Nuoro, Italy, participated in an ARISS contact on Friday, April 29 using radio station IK1SLD in Italy. Approximately 200 students, teachers and visitors listened as on-orbit astronaut Paolo Nespoli, IZØJPA answered 17 questions from the students. The contact was held in collaboration with the Astronomical Association of Nuoro during Spring Festival and was integrated in the Maccioni students' studies of astronomy and space flight.
3. Ericsson Radio Installed in Columbus Module
Astronaut Cady Coleman installed the Ericsson VHF radio in the Columbus Module on Tuesday, April 26. Paolo Nespoli followed up, speaking with ARISS telebridge stations and others on the ground to test the radio. The May 1 AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) News Service bulletin (ANS-121) covered the news. See: http://amsat.org/pipermail/ans/2011/000510.html
4. Amateur Radio Newsline on ARISS
On April 29, the Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1759 included an item covering the Gagarin event during which ARISSat-1 was to be activated. See: ftp://ftp.arnewsline.org/quincy/News/news.txt
5. Astronaut Training Status
Astronaut Luca Parmitano, KF5KDP (Expedition 36) participated in an ARISS basic operations session on Monday, April 25.
Dan Burbank, KC5ZSX is scheduled for a preflight session in early May. He is slated to fly with Expedition 29 in September 2011.