Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report April 25, 2011

1. Upcoming School Contacts

The Italian Air Force Academy in Pozzuoli, Italy has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Thursday, April 28 at 07:04 UTC via telebridge station LU1CGB in Argentina. This contact has been integrated into the aerospace engineering curriculum for cadets and will draw interest from the scientific community.

Ecole Primaire de Larochette (Fiels), Larochette (Fiels), Luxembourg has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Friday, April 29 at 10:12 UTC via station WH6PN in Hawaii. School lesson plans have covered space exploration, communications and human spaceflight. Field trips, radio demonstrations and hands-on activities have been planned. The radio contact with the ISS will be the highlight of this science program.

Scuola Secondaria I Grado "M.Maccioni" Nuoro, Nuoro, Italy, has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Friday, April 29 at 15:56 UTC via station IK1SLD in Italy. The contact will be held in collaboration with the Astronomical Association of Nuoro during Spring Festival and has been integrated in the Maccioni students' studies of astronomy and space flight.

2. Recent ARISS Contacts

On Monday, April 18, an ARISS contact was held between youth visiting the Toyota Children's Scientific Expedition in Toyota, Aichi, Japan and Cady Coleman, KC5ZTH on the ISS. The Scientific Expedition teaches children about science and engineering through the various experiments it offers and on this day, the ARISS contact was the featured event, drawing approximately 100 people including representatives from four newspapers. Video is available: http://www.ariss.jp/toyota/video/ARISS.wmv

On-orbit astronaut Paolo Nespoli, IZØJPA participated in a successful contact with students from Primary School "Dante Alighieri" De Neuquen located in Neuquen - Patagonia, Argentina, on Monday, April 18. Four hundred students and guests attended the event and were pleased that Nespoli continued answering their questions over a second ISS pass. The contact was performed with support from CETRA (Science Education and Technology united by Ham Radio), a delegation of AMSAT-Argentina which promotes space activities and amateur radio in schools, using station LU8YY. This activity was integrated into the science and technology curriculum.

On Saturday, April 23, Istituto Comprensivo Dedalo 2000 - Scuola secondaria di Cingia de' Botti students in Solarolo Rainerio, Italy spoke with astronaut Paolo Nespoli, IZØJPA via an ARISS contact, using telebridge station W6SRJ in California for the radio link. Nearly 150 students, teachers and guests turned out for the event during which Nespoli answered 18 space-related questions. The contact was the culmination of science lessons covering astronomy, physics of radio waves, the history of space flights and the history of radio communications.

3. ARISS International Team Meeting Held

The ARISS International Team held its monthly teleconference on Tuesday, April 19. A status was given on the radio that will be installed in the Columbus Module and a discussion was held about issues concerning the recent Gagarin Commemorative Event. Minutes have been posted. See: https://www.rac.ca/ariss/arisstel2011-04-19.htm

4. ARISS in ARRL QST

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) included an ARISS item in its May QST. The "In Brief" column discusses how Astronaut Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC, will be attending the ARRL Expo exhibits at the Dayton Hamvention as a special guest of ARRL and AMSAT.

5. AMSAT Update on ARISSat-1

The AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) News Service put out a bulletin (ANS-114) on April 24 that gave an update on ARISSat-1. The item talks about the satellite's battery status and how this affected its activation during the Gagarin Event on April 12. See: http://amsat.org/pipermail/ans/2011/000508.html