Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report
October 22, 2012
1. Upcoming School Contacts
Meikei High School in Tsukuba, Japan will participate in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Tuesday, October 23 at 11:06 UTC. The school was established in 1979 by an alumni association formed principally by the graduates of the University of Tsukuba and Tokyo University of Education. Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide is a graduate of the school. The school's science club has a Radio & Electronics Group with its own radio station, callsign JJ1YAF. Club members and other interested students will learn about the ISS, orbital mechanics and amateur radio satellite communications through this activity. The group will speak with Hoshide during this contact, which will be conducted in Japanese.
East Falmouth Elementary School, East Falmouth, Massachusetts will take part in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Friday, October 26 at 17:40 UTC. Using NASA resources, students are learning about the solar system, global climate changes on Earth and the advances in science and technology generated by space exploration.
2. Successful ARISS Contacts Held
On Tuesday, October 16, CRA Pozohondo in Nava De Abajo (Pozohondo), Spain hosted an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact via telebridge station LU8YY in Argentina. ISS astronaut Sunita Williams, KD5PLB chatted with students, answering 20 of their life-in-space questions. The activity was tied to lessons in astronomy, photography, radio and English as a second language. Over 100 students and guests attended. The school has posted video on its Web site:
http://edu.jccm.es/cra/cra_pozohondo
Students from the Wattsburg Area School District in Erie, Pennsylvania participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with on-orbit astronaut Sunita Williams, KD5PLB on Friday, October 19 via telebridge station VK4KHZ in Australia. Approximately 600 students were in attendance with another 400 participating from their classrooms, connected by internet. The ARISS contact was part of a comprehensive education plan which covers Robotics, Astronomy, Amateur Radio and Science.
Scouts visiting the National Scouting Museum in Irving, Texas spoke with Sunita Williams, KD5PLB via an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Saturday, October 20. The contact was part of the Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) weekend event whereby Scouts of all ages from around the world connect with each other using Amateur Radio equipment. Williams was able to answer over 20 questions put to her by the Scouts and had time for longer than usual answers due to sharing of the contact by Australian telebridge stations VK6MJ and VK5ZAI. The audience consisted of around 200 scouts, parents, and friends and at least three television stations and several newspapers representatives were present.
3. ARISS International Team Meeting Held
The ARISS International Team monthly teleconference was held on Tuesday, October 16. A status was given on the HamTV project as well as the new VHF unit to be flown to the ISS and subsequently installed in the Columbus Module. Minutes have been posted. See: http://ariss.rac.ca/arisstel2012-10-16.htm
4. Astronaut Training Status
Luca Parmitano, KF5KDP attended his preflight session on October 17. He is slated to fly with Expedition 36 crew in May 2013.
5. ARRL Covers ARISS
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) ran a 3 page article in its November QST about an ARISS teacher and the STEM activities she did prior to and after her ARISS contact.
ARRL also posted "Saturday Pacificon Snapshot" which talks about the activities held during the Pacific Division annual convention in Santa Clara, CA, including an ARISS contact between students and Akihiko Hoshide, KE5DNI on ISS. See: http://www.arrl.org/news/saturday-pacificon-snapshot
6. AMSAT News Service on ARISS
The October 21 AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) News Service bulletin (ANS-295) posted an article on the upcoming AMSAT Symposium to be held this week, Friday, October 26 - Sunday, October 28 in Orlando, Florida. NASA Astronaut Samuel Durrance will be the guest speaker at the Saturday banquet. Also included in this week's bulletin is an item covering recent ARISS contacts. Both items can be found at: http://amsat.org/pipermail/ans/2012/000660.html