Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report March 12, 2012

1. Upcoming School Contacts

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for Liberty Junior High School in Burbank, Illinois on Wednesday, March 14 at 18:14 UTC. The ARISS contact is part of a comprehensive education plan which will pique students' interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for Middenschool de Regenboog Bree, Bree, Belgium on Friday, March 16 at 10:10 UTC. Students are learning about the micro-gravity environment and how the human body is affected. They are also learning about the history of manned spaceflight, commercial spaceflight, the construction of the ISS, and safety concerns. This contact is planned in the Dutch language with Astronaut André Kuipers.

An ARISS contact has been scheduled for Istituto Tecnologico Statale Trasporti e Logistica "Leone Acciaiuoli", Ortona, Italy on Sunday, March 18 at 11:31 UTC. The Ortona Maritime Institute "Leone Acciaiuoli" (I.T.N) is a technical high school that prepares the student for a career as a merchant ship officer or to continue his university studies in the field of engineering disciplines. Among the subjects taught at the school are navigation, astronomy, celestial navigation, satellite navigation, telecommunications (including satellite telecommunications), mathematics and physics. Since 1991, the Institute has taken part in the "International Day of Planetaria" which provides an opportunity for educating the public in the areas of planetaria, science and technology. On this day, the public is able to visit the Planetarium, laboratories, astronomical telescope and other astronomical equipment. The ARISS contact will be held as part of the day's activities.

2. California Students Radio Dan Burbank on Space Station

On Monday, March 5, Dilworth Elementary School in San Jose, California participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Dan Burbank, KC5ZSX. Burbank fielded 19 questions put to him by the students about the challenges encountered while living in space. The contact took place during the NASA Destination Station exhibit at The Tech Museum located nearby and complemented lessons on Science Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

3. Astronaut André Kuipers Answers Children's Questions via ARISS

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was held between André Kuipers and school children at the Space Expo in Noordwijk, Netherlands on Tuesday, March 6 via station ON4ISS in Belgium. The radio activity was part of an educational program around Kuipers' mission Spaceship Earth which targets youth who are 10-14 years of age. Part of this program consists of mission assignments that Kuipers gives to Dutch schoolchildren. The winners of each challenge were invited to the radio contact. Other activities included lessons and experiments.

4. Hams who Experimented with ARISSat Make the News

Farrell and Jeff Winder, the father and son who helped in the development of SuitSat-1, made the news recently when they used ARISSat's transponder and after several tries, successfully sent and received a picture of Farrell Winder's automobile license plate. Community Press posted the story, "Father, son team up in 'outer space'." See: http://communitypress.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/C2/20120301/...

5. NASA Web Site Supports STEM Education

A new NASA Web site and application, "ISS Live," supports Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education. The site provides live data from the ISS and includes lessons that can be used in the classroom, with more to be added in the near future. Also coming is a blog where educators may share their ideas and experiences. See: http://spacestationlive.jsc.nasa.gov/

6. Amateur Radio Newsline Covers ARISS

On March 9, Amateur Radio Newsline report #1804 talked about Richard Garriott's documentary covering his flight in space and use of amateur radio. Another story talked about Canadian ham astronaut Chris Hadfield, VAOOG who will become the first Canadian commander of the ISS. "Names in the News: W5LFL and W5KWQ - Man on a Mission - The Movie" and "Ham Radio in Space: VA3OOG to be First Canadian to Command the ISS" may be viewed at: http://www.arnewsline.org/storage/scripts/nsln1804.txt

7. AMSAT News Service on ARISS

The March 11 AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) News Service bulletin (ANS-071) included a link to a HamRadioNow interview, posted on Southgate Amateur Radio Club's Web site, with Lou McFadin, W5DID at the Orlando HamCation where he talked about ARISSat-1. To view the video, see: http://tinyurl.com/LouMcFadin