Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report June 13, 2011
1. Upcoming School Contact
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for Hochtaunusschule in Oberursel, Hessen, Germany on Tuesday, June 14 at 11:49 UTC via telebridge station W6SRJ in California. The contact will be held during the state event "Hessentag 2011" to interest high school students in wireless technology.
2. Successful ARISS Contacts
On Tuesday, June 7, students attending South West College Enniskillen, Enniskillen, Northern Ireland took part in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with on-orbit astronaut Ron Garan, KF5GPO via telebridge station K6DUE in Greenbelt, Maryland. Eleven questions about living in space were asked and answered. The contact was integrated into the science curriculum covering topics such as gravity and force, climate change, weather systems and the impacts of science on ecosystems. The BBC printed an article covering the event. See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13682073
Lycée européen Charles de Gaulle in Dijon, France, participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Thursday, June 9 via station VK4KHZ in Australia. Students who have been studying the Russian language spoke in Russian with cosmonaut Andrey Borisenko, getting answers to 17 questions before losing contact with the ISS. The school incorporated the contact into its Space Day event, organized to celebrate 50 years of human spaceflight.
3. ESA Article on Nespoli Mission
The European Space Agency Italia ran a story about astronaut Paolo Nespoli, IZ0JPA and the educational activities he participated in during his mission on the ISS, including the many ARISS contacts he performed. The article, "Paolo Nespoli e ARISS, un contatto spaziale da record" may be viewed here in Italian: http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM8UYJ4LOG_Italy_0.html
The English translation may be found here: http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=http://www.esa.i...
4. Challenger Learning Centers Promote ARISS
The Challenger Learning Center (CLC) is promoting ARISS contacts. In its June 2011 SOAR, the E-Newsletter for Educators, CLC included an item about the new ARISS proposal process for U.S. schools.
5. AMSAT - ARISSat-1 News
The June 12 AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) News Service bulletin (ANS-163) included an article titled "ARISSat-1 Reception Challenge." The story provides several ways people can participate in ARISSat-1 when it is deployed in July. See: http://amsat.org/pipermail/ans/2011/000521.html
6. Astronaut Training Status
Astronaut Mike Hopkins (Expedition 37) passed his amateur radio Technician License exam on Thursday, June 9. His call sign should be issued in about a week.
An ARISS simulated contact is planned between Kevin Ford, KF5GPP and youth from John McCrae Secondary High School, Ottawa, Canada on Monday, June 13 at approximately 18:30 UTC. The training session is a terrestrial-based amateur radio contact using ARISS equivalent equipment. The session will prepare Ford for participation in ARISS contacts when he flies with Expedition 33 in September 2012.
Don Pettit, KD5MDT and André Kuipers, PI9ISS are scheduled for an ARISS preflight session on June 22. The two astronauts are part of Expedition 30 which will launch in November 2011.