Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report October 24, 2011

1. Upcoming School Contacts

Cherry Creek School District, Centennial, Colorado has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Thursday, October 27 at 17:09 UTC via telebridge station IK1SLD in Italy. A radio technology curriculum will be provided to students in the gifted and talented program, "Inside Out" to get them interested in amateur radio. The class will cover topics from radio propagation to UTC time and space. A guest speaker will talk about meteor scatter as well. Lesson plan objectives are to understand: measuring systems, general awareness of time on the body, orbits, science experiments, intervals, sleep, and communications.

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for Space Laboratory, Herzliya Science Centre, Herzliya, Israel on Friday, October 28 at 11:25 UTC. The contact will be incorporated into lessons covering the space environment, orbital mechanics, satellite design and radio communications.

2. ARISS Contact with Seiryo Elementary

Seiryo Elementary School, Seto, Aichi, Japan experienced a successful Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Tuesday, October 18. The contact highlighted a science curriculum covering electricity, space and technology.

3. ZST Students Contact ISS

On Friday, October 21, an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was held between students attending Zespol Szkol Technicznych in Rybnicka, Slask, Poland and on-orbit astronaut Mike Fossum, KF5AQG. Approximately 65 students, teachers, parents, guests and media attended the event and listened as Fossum fielded 19 questions posed by the students. The SP9PKS radio club members worked with the youth to prepare them for the contact. Lesson plans included the construction of radio equipment and contacts via LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellites. Two newspapers and four broadcast radio stations covered the contact: Dziennik Zachodni and Wiadomoci Powiatowe newspapers, Radio Zet, Radio Zote Przeboje, Tok FM, Antyradio, and local station Radio Fest.

4. ARISS International Team Meeting, October 28-29

The ARISS International Face-to-Face Meeting will be held this Friday and Saturday, October 28 and 29 at the Space Center Houston in Houston, Texas. The team will come together to share regional reports as well as status reports from the program's other committees including education, operations and hardware.

5. ARISS International Team Teleconference Held

The monthly ARISS International teleconference was held on Tuesday, October 18. The upcoming face-to-face meeting was discussed, among other topics. Minutes have been posted: http://www.rac.ca/ariss/arisstel2011-10-18.htm

6. Astronaut Training Status

On October 18 Dan Burbank, KC5ZSX was given an ARISS refresher course to prepare him for his upcoming flight with Expedition 29 in November. Joe Acaba, KE5DAR participated in a preflight session the same day. He plans to fly with Expedition 31 in March 2012.

7. ARISS Recognized by NASA Associate Administrator for Education

In a recent communication of FY2011 accomplishments to the NASA education community, NASA Associate Administrator for Education Leland Melvin highlighted the accomplishments of ARISS:

"10,743 curious students and 778 motivated educators participated in direct communication with International Space Station (ISS) crews via the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS), sparking their interest in STEM."