Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report

July 30, 2012

1. Upcoming School Contact

Space Jam 6, which will be held at the Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum in Rantoul, Illinois, has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Sunday, August 5 at 10:06 UTC. The Space Jamboree Workshop is the Midwest's largest technology oriented gathering of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. The theme this year is "The History of Aviation." Subjects that will be taught and merit badges that may be earned include the following: Space Exploration, Radio, Aviation, Electronics, Robotics, Soil/Water Conservation, Environmental Science, Energy, Metalwork, Computers, Geology, Nuclear Science, Engineering and Inventing. The Jamboree is working with the University of Illinois, Purdue, and DePauw Universities (high altitude balloon launches, FIRST Robotics, Nuclear Engineering) to help Scouts plan for the future.

2. Girls from WE@RIT Camp Speak with Sunita Williams in Space

Fifth and sixth grade girls attending the "Everyday Engineering" camp at Kate Gleason College, sponsored by the Women in Engineering @ Rochester Institute of Technology (WE@RIT) in New York took part in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Monday, July 23. The girls talked with on-orbit astronaut Sunita Williams, KD5PLB who currently holds the record for longest space flight by a woman. The contact highlighted camp activities that focus on engineering-based themes to teach the engineering design process through hands-on build and design activities. This year's camp theme is "World in Motion." Also attending the contact were students from the grade 7-9 camp (held two weeks ago), the students attending this week's RoboCamp, and the Lil' Kids on Campus Space Week kids. To view video of the contact, see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdlpcw_VD4M

3. Virginia Air and Space Center Contact Successful

On Thursday, July 26, Sunita Williams, KD5PLB held an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with youth volunteers from the Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton, Virginia. The volunteers give tours, provide demonstrations to the public and support the center in its efforts to educate the public. The center has its own amateur radio exhibit and during these summer months, it also welcomes NASA exhibits Destination Station, the Orion Test Vehicle and the Mars Science Laboratory.

4. AMSAT News Service on ARISS

The July 29 AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) News Service bulletin (ANS-211) announced the return of Frank Bauer to the position of VP-Human Spaceflight. Bauer will resume this position on August 1. Also given in the report was a status on the new Ericsson that will replace the old VHF radio in the Columbus Module. The new radio is currently scheduled to launch on 49P in November. For more information, see: http://amsat.org/pipermail/ans/2012/000637.html