Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report
May 21, 2012
1. Upcoming School Contact
Northland Preparatory Academy in Flagstaff, Arizona has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Thursday, May 24 at 17:00 UTC. The contact is part of a comprehensive education plan which will pique students' interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).
2. ARISS International Team Meeting Held
The ARISS International Team monthly meeting was held on May 15. Discussions included a status of the Ham TV project. Minutes have been posted: http://ariss.rac.ca/arisstel2012-05-15.htm
3. Astronaut Training Status
Chris Hadfield, KC5RNJ/VA3OOG and Thomas Marshburn, KE5HOC, both slated to fly with Expedition 34, acquired their preflight training during a session on May 14. Alexander Gerst, KF5ONO (Expedition 40) took his introductory/ basic operations class on May 9.
Kevin Ford, KF5GPP is scheduled for a preflight session on May 22. He is scheduled to launch with the Expedition 33 crew in October 2012.
4. ARRL Site for ARISS Volunteers
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) has a new Web page for ARISS-US volunteers. For more information about these opportunities, see: http://www.arrl.org/ariss-volunteers
5. AMSAT News Service on ARISS
The AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) News Service bulletin (ANS-141) posted on May 20 contained two ARISS-related items. The first piece covered Dayton Hamvention activities which included the presentations given by Mark Hammond, N8MH about ARISS mentor and ARISS ground station opportunities. A second item was posted about the new Expedition 31 ham crew members that arrived at the ISS last week. See: http://amsat.org/pipermail/ans/2012/000620.html
6. Amateur Radio Newsline Covers ARISS
The May 18 Amateur Radio Newsline report #1814 included an article on the new crew members that joined Expedition 31 on the ISS. The article, "Ham Radio in Space: Three More Hams Launch toward the ISS" may be found at: http://www.arnewsline.org/storage/scripts/nsln1814.txt