Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report July 12, 2010
1. Upcoming School Contacts
The Girl Guides of Canada have been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Friday, July 16 at 17:47 UTC. Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, ages 12-17, are participating in the Guiding Mosaic 2010 which is being held July 8-17 at Guelph Lake, Ontario to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Girl Guides in Canada. The event focuses on girls doing program work in various fields including science and technology, sports, waterfront and arts and crafts. They have prepared for their ARISS contact by studying orbital mechanics and learning about the value of successful international partnerships.
International Space University (ISU), located in Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France, has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Wednesday, July 21 at 15:36 UTC. The university provides interdisciplinary educational programs to students and space professionals in an international, intercultural environment. Over 130 students are enrolled in the ISU Space Studies Program through which they will learn the basics of satellite communications. They will also study human spaceflight and learn about the legal aspects of space exploration and international cooperation. The ARISS contact will be the featured activity of this program.
2. Successful Contact with Camp Cavett
On Thursday, July 8, children attending Cavett Kids Foundation's Camp Cavett in Kingston, Oklahoma, participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with on-orbit astronaut Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC. Wheelock's question and answer session was the culmination of radio activities in which the youth were introduced to the basics of radio wave propagation. Local radio clubs gave demonstrations to the youth and assisted with other hands on activities. Media coverage included television and newspapers as well as CQ Magazine. Additional interviews were given to radio stations prior to the contact.
3. ISS Makes General Contacts
Over the July 10 - 11 weekend, Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC made several general contacts with ground stations around the world including those in the U.S., Canada, Australia and Europe.
4. MAI-75 Experiment to be Activated
The Russian ISS crew members plan to activate the MAI-75 (Moscow Aviation Institute) experiment on July 15 and 16 at approximately 10:00 - 12:00 UTC, (mode to be determined). It may be possible for some ground stations to receive Slow Scan Television (SSTV) images transmitted by the crew. More information on the MAI-75 experiment may be found at: http://www.energia.ru/eng/iss/researches/education-26.html
5. Astronaut Training Status
Astronauts Ron Garan, KF5GPO, and Mike Fossum, KF5AQG, have been scheduled for simulated Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contacts with the Challenger Learning Center of Indianapolis on Thursday, July 22 at approximately 16:00 UTC and 16:15 UTC respectively. These training sessions are terrestrial-based amateur radio contacts using ARISS equivalent equipment.
6. ESA Covers ARISS Contact with Italian Campers
The European Space Agency posted a story on the recent ARISS contact held with the summer camp "Astronauts in Forest," in Perugia, Italy. See: http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMSCGO2CBG_Italy_0.html
7. ARISS News on Amateur Radio Newsline
On July 9, the Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1717 posted an item on the AIS (Automatic Identification System) and ARISS antennas installed on the Columbus Module. To view the article, "Ham Radio in Space: ESA Columbus AIS System Antenna Built by Ham," see: ftp://ftp.arnewsline.org/quincy/News/news.txt