Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report
October 15, 2012
1. Upcoming School Contacts
CRA Pozohondo, Nava De Abajo (Pozohondo), Spain is preparing for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact to be held on Tuesday, October 16 at 09:26 UTC via telebridge station LU8YY in Argentina. Students are learning about astronomy, photography and radio communications among other topics. The ARISS contact will be one of the hands-on activities highlighting these subjects. See the school Web site: http://edu.jccm.es/cra/cra_pozohondo
Wattsburg Area School District in Erie, Pennsylvania has been slated for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Friday, October 19 at 16:11 UTC via telebridge station VK4KHZ in Australia. NASA astronaut Michael Fincke has been invited to attend the event. The contact will stimulate interest and participation in extracurricular activities including the Robotics Club, Astronomy Club, Amateur Radio Club, Science Olympiad Team and others.
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for the National Scouting Museum, Irving, Texas on Saturday, October 20 at 18:32 UTC via telebridge station VK6MJ in Australia. The Boy Scouts of America hosts an annual international event, Jamboree on the Air (JOTA), which is in its 55th year, whereby Scouts of all ages from around the world connect with each other using Amateur Radio equipment. The National Scouting Museum has been a site for, and hosted an event in conjunction with JOTA for four years.
2. ARISS Contacts Held
Students from St. George's International School in Luxembourg participated in a Q&A session with Sunita Williams, KD5PLB on Monday, October 8 via an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact. The radio connection was handled by telebridge station W6SRJ in California. Approximately 700 students, teachers and guests were in attendance - 200 in the gym watched live and another 500 in the classrooms watched a "live stream" of the contact. The audience included several VIPs: the UK Ambassador Alice Walpole, the Head Teacher Heather Duxbury and the Deputy Head Teachers (Kath Griffiths and Mark Stenton) of both primary and secondary sections. Guest speakers gave talks on satellites as well as the NASA "Moon Buggie" project. The contact was one of the educational activities the students from both sections took part in to learn about electricity, astronomy and physics.
On Tuesday, October 9, Liceo Statale Adelaide Cairoli in Pavia, Italy took part in its Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact via station W6SRJ in California. On-orbit astronaut Sunita Williams, KD5PLB, was able to answer 18 questions during the contact as nearly 1100 students gathered for the event. The school uses amateur radio as a teaching tool and its radio club provides students the opportunity to speak with other amateurs all over the world using different languages. This ARISS contact was used to focus on technology, science and foreign languages. The video may be viewed here: http://livestre.am/4aJ08
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was held with youth attending the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Pacific Division annual convention, PACIFICON in Santa Clara, California on Saturday, October 13. Telebridge station IK1SLD in Italy provided the radio connection. Astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, KE5DNI, on the ISS participated in the contact which was the featured event of the PACIFICON Youth Program that emphasized hands-on radio operation, electronics kit building, orbital mathematics and CubeSat satellite design, among other STEM activities. Fellow astronaut Dr. Lee Morin gave a presentation at the event and exchanged greetings with Hoshide at the end of the ISS pass. An audience of approximately 150 was present for the contact; 2500 attended the convention.
3. AMSAT News Service on ARISS
The October 14 AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) News Service bulletin (ANS-288) posted an article on upcoming JOTA activities at the National Scouting Museum in Irving, Texas, which will include an ARISS contact. "National Scouting Museum to Celebrate JOTA With ARISS Contact" may be found at: http://amsat.org/pipermail/ans/2012/000657.html
4. U.S. Schools Announce Upcoming Contacts
Anacapa School in Santa Barbara, California and Bates College Museum of Art in Lewiston, Maine have both announced ARISS contacts planned for their schools in Spring 2013. See:
http://www.noozhawk.com/article/100412_anacapa_live_qa_international_space_s tation/
and
http://www.bates.edu/news/2012/10/04/starstruck-space-station/