Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report October 3, 2011
1. Upcoming School Contacts
S. K. Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Monday, October 3 at 14:46 UTC. The school has been invited by the National Space Agency Satellite Ground Station (call sign 9M2RPN) to participate in the "Prime Minister's National Space Challenge Trophy 2011," which has been an annual event since 2007, when Malaysian space participant, Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, flew to the ISS. The National Space Challenge involves a large number of students and encourages them to learn about space. The event receives extensive media coverage from newspapers, radio and television.
George Observatory, Needville, Texas has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Saturday, October 8 at 16:50 UTC via telebridge station WH6PN in Hawaii. Astronomy Day is put on each year by all the Astronomy clubs in the greater Houston area in conjunction with the Houston Museum of Natural Science. The event is held at the George Observatory in Brazos Bend State Park and draws 4000 attendees each year. The ARRL (American Radio Relay League) education and technology program will be used to prepare youth for the contact. A NASA booth will be set up and amateur astronomers and amateur radio operators will be available to discuss the ISS, space travel and forms of communication.
2. Lompoc High School Students Experience ARISS Contact
On Thursday, September 29, students attending Lompoc High School in Lompoc, California connected with on-orbit astronaut Mike Fossum, KF5AQG via an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact. Fossum fielded over ten questions before the ISS went over the horizon. Students who participated in the contact are involved in Lompoc's STaRS (Space, Technology and Robotics Systems) Academy. The event highlighted students' studies covering space flight, the space environment, orbital motion, ground tracking, life support systems and rockets. The Santa Maria Times posted an article about the experience: http://santamariatimes.com/news/local/education/talking-to-an-astronaut-in-s...
3. NASA Shares Kiroli Contact Audio
Kiroli Elementary School students from West Monroe, Louisiana took part in an ARISS contact with Satoshi Furukawa, KE5DAW on the International Space Station on September 22. This was the first ARISS contact for Louisianans. On Wednesday, September 28, NASA tweeted a link to the contact audio and also provided a link to audio on its Web site. http://ia700705.us.archive.org/33/items/Expedition29/09-22-11_EXP29_HAM-Radi...
4. Premier of Nunavut, Canada Promotes ARISS
Eva Aariak, the Premier of the Territory of Nunavut, Canada, and Minister of Education, gave a talk about the importance of education, especially in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and how the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program makes learning interesting. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jSroPPcXtM
5. Astronaut Training Status
ESA Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti has been assigned callsign IZ0UDF. Cristoforetti was selected as an ESA astronaut in May 2009.
6. ARRL QST on ARISS
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) October QST had several items related to ARISS, as follows:
The "In Brief" column made mention of the deployment of ARISSat-1 from the ISS on August 3.
Then the "Happenings" column carried a 3/4-page article covering the deployment in depth -- the article was titled, "Cosmonauts Deploy ARISSat-1 from ISS".
The "Media Hits" column featured the many hits that the ARISSat team got, including national-level PR such as the UPI, International Business Times, EETimes, NASA.gov, and Space.
The same column also made mention of an article in the Press & Sun-Bulletin of Vestal, NY that highlighted Kopernik Observatory's summer science Pegasus program for kids. (Kopernik sponsored the Windsor Central District schools' ARISS contact.) The article talked about Kopernik hams who helped kids make contact with ham satellites using the observatory's ham station.
7. ARRL Articles on ARISSat
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) posted two articles on ARISSat in its September 29 issue of the ARRL Letter. The first piece covers the survey about ARISSat operations. The second item is about the Chicken Little Contest which is being held to guess when ARISSat-1 will re-enter Earth's atmosphere. Those who wish to participate may enter one of three categories: students in grades K-8, students in grades 9-12 and adults. Submissions will be accepted until October 15, 2011 at 23:59:00 (UTC). See: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter?issue=2011-09-29
8. AMSAT Italia Presents Plaques to Expedition 26/27 Crew Members
During the post-flight tour of the MagISStra mission, AMSAT Italia presented plaques to ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli and NASA astronaut Cady Coleman. The inscriptions read:
"in appreciation for the dedication so generously given by Catherine G. Coleman, KC5ZTH to scientific education and science dissemination" ESRIN - Frascati, 22 September 2011" "in apprezzamento dell'impegno profuso dal Socio d'Onore Paolo Nespoli, IZØJPA a sostegno dell'educazione e della divulgazione scientifica" ESRIN - Frascati, 22 Settembre 2011"
For photos, see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/63976489@N07/sets/72157627756635934/
9. EE Times - ARISSat Blog
New entries have been made to the EE (Electronic Engineering) Times "Chips in Space" blog about amateur radio satellite ARISSat-1. The second part of "Lessons Learned" may be found at this link: http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-blogs/chips-in-space/4228027/Chips-in-Spa...
Current results from the survey held about ARISSat-1 operations may be viewed here (the survey remains open): http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-blogs/other/4228654/Chips-in-Space--Surve...
10. Amateur Radio Newsline on ARISS
The Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1781, posted on September 30, included a story on Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) 2011 which will be held over the October 15 - 16 weekend. The item mentions that ISS Astronaut Mike Fossum, KF5AQG is a scoutmaster and may be on the air over the weekend, if time allows. "Ham Radio and Scouting: JOTA 2011 - October 15 - 16," may be viewed at: ftp://ftp.arnewsline.org/quincy/News/news.txt