Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report September 14, 2009
1. Upcoming School Contacts
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for Liberty Middle School in Camas, Washington on Tuesday, September 15 at 20:25 UTC. Telebridge station ON4ISS in Belgium will facilitate the contact. For twenty years, Liberty's sixth grade students have actively participated as "astronauts in training" as they completed an eight week training course that culminated with a flight in the school's space station, Alpha-Z 2000. Computers, with software written by a local parent, linked the students to Mission Control with voice communication and security cameras allowed teachers to observe how the astronauts were progressing on their mission. One of the school's space station modules has been named in honor of Mike Barratt, who attended Camas Public Schools. The ARISS contact will be integrated into these activities.
Euro Space Center (ESC) in Transinne, Belgium is slated for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Wednesday, September 16 at 07:12 UTC via telebridge station W6SRJ in California. ESC is recognized by the educational ministries. It is both a Space Expo open to the public and a Space Camp. The Space Camp provides children with space training and is operational year round.
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for Delta Researchers Schools, Dutch Ministry of Education on Friday, September 18 at 15:55 UTC via telebridge station VK4KHZ in Australia. This is an ESA event from Space Expo, Noordwijk, the Netherlands.
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for Vrij Technisch Instituut Sint-Lucas in Oudenaarde, Oost - Vlaanderen, Belgium on Tuesday, September 22 at 13:47 UTC. Students have learned about Earth rotation, orbit speed, time zones, satellites, weather forecasts and geostationary versus polar satellites. The antennas which will be used for the contact as well as a UPS device have been constructed by the students themselves.
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for the HMS Beagle Project in Parati, Brazil on Tuesday, September 22 at 18:20 UTC via ground station K6DUE in Maryland, USA. The project (which aims to rebuild the ship that carried Darwin around the world) and NASA have signed an International Space Act Agreement, with Mike Barratt as the initiator and main connection on the NASA side of the project. The project will unite ISS astronaut photography with ocean surface water and other biological and physical samples taken by the crew of the new Beagle.
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for Cedarview Middle School in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on Thursday, September 24 at 19:07 UTC. Students have learned about the ISS through videos, the internet and guest speakers.
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for Garfield Elementary School in Boise, Idaho on Thursday, September 24 at 20:34 UTC via telebridge station W6SRJ in California. Students will visit the NASA Exploration Experience traveling exhibit on display at the Idaho Historical Museum and will learn about space exploration and its benefits.
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for Houya Elementary School in Nishitokyo, Japan on Saturday, September 26 at 09:28 UTC. Students have learned about amateur radio, space science and the global cooperation involved with running the ISS.
2. ARISS Contact with Atheneum Students Successful
On Thursday, September 10, students attending Atheneum Middenschool Keerbergen in Keerbergen, Belgium experienced an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Frank De Winne, ON1DWN on the ISS. Telebridge station W6SRJ in California provided the connection. An audience of approximately 30 people observed the students as their twenty questions were answered.
3. De Winne Particpates in ARISS Contact During UNICEF Event
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact took place between UNICEF Belgium at the Euro Space Center in Transinne, Belgium and Frank De Winne, ON1DWN, UNICEF's goodwill ambassador. The contact occurred on Thursday, September 10 via station LU1CGB in Argentina. UNICEF Belgium is running a campaign called WaSH (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene) to make students aware of how important water is for humans. Some of the students participating in the campaign were given the opportunity to travel to the center to speak with the Expedition 20 astronaut. Eighteen questions were answered.
4. ARISS Contact with Tokyo Denki University
On Saturday, September 12, an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was held between students attending Tokyo Denki University High/Junior High School in Koganei, Tokyo, Japan and Michael Barratt, KD5MIJ on the ISS. Thirty people gathered and listened as eighteen questions were asked and answered. The school has a radio club and recruits new members each year. Students study for their licenses, learn how to make radio contacts and learn about space and the ISS.
5. Astronaut Training Status
Astronauts Timothy Creamer, KC5WKI and Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP participated in Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) training sessions on Wednesday, September 9. They spoke with children from the Ralph McCall School in Airdrie, Alberta, Canada. The training sessions were terrestrial-based amateur radio contacts using ARISS equivalent equipment. Audio was available on the Internet Radio Linking Project (IRLP).
6. AMSAT Symposium, ARISS Ops Meeting to be Held in October
The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) Symposium will be held on Friday, October 9 through Sunday, October 11 at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel at the Baltimore Washington Airport in Maryland. An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) presentation will be given and a demo of ARISSat-1 is planned. An ARISS Operations team meeting will be held following the symposium on Sunday, October 11.
7. ARISS Presentation Given at Great Lakes Division Symposium
The 2009 Great Lakes Division Symposium was held in Findlay, Ohio on Saturday September 12, followed by the Findlay Hamfest on September 13. A presentation on the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program was given at the symposium by ARISS mentor Charlie Sufana, AJ9N.