Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report October 26, 2009

1. Upcoming School Contacts

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled with Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw, Poland on Tuesday, October 27 at 09:33 UTC via telebridge station VK4KHZ in Australia. The centre organized a student competition for naming the asteroids, using rules of the science naming process. This month the winners travelled to Warsaw for the competition finale and will take part in the ARISS event.

Sherbrooke Community School in Sassafras, Victoria, Australia has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Wednesday, October 28 at 07:13 UTC. This will be a telebridge contact with station W6SRJ in California. The school fosters student participation and the advancement of amateur radio in the community. It operates Sherbrooke Community Club station, VK3KID. The school invited representatives from neighboring schools to pose questions to the astronauts and asked its sister schools in China and Bhutan to also submit questions for students to ask the ISS crew.

David Thompson Middle School (DTMS) in Calgary, Alberta, Canada has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Friday, October 30 at 21:12 UTC via station LU8YY in Argentina. DTMS and the University of Calgary's science department will collaborate on this event.

2. Italian Students Contact Astronaut Frank De Winne via ARISS

On Tuesday, October 20, students attending Istituto Comprensivo "Romualdo TRIFONE" in Montecorvino Rovella, Salerno, Italy participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Frank DeWinne, ON1DWN on the ISS. To prepare for the contact, teachers partnered with astrophysicists of the Astronomical Observatory "Giancamillo Glorious" in M. Rovella and the local amateur radio group ARI Salerno. Assistance was provided by the amateur radio station in "Alighieri Trevigi" School, located in Casale Monferrato, Italy. The school used a combination of a direct and telebridge contact to avoid local obscurations. An audience of more than 40 (Casale Monferrato) and 450 (Montecorvino Rovella) students, teachers and visitors gathered for the event and the webcast received over 500 connections. Regional television, local media and newspapers covered the news.

3. ARISS Contact with Senegal Students

On Friday, October 23, C. E. M. IV in Mbour, Senegal experienced an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Frank De Winne, ON1DWN on the ISS. Students asked twenty questions of the astronaut. Swiss astronaut Claude Nicollier, HB9CN also participated in a videoconference with the youth. C. E. M. IV is a technical college and has formed a scientific club at the school based on new technologies.

4. De Winne has ARISS Contact with Ieper Students

Students from VTI Ieper in Ieper, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium spoke with Frank DeWinne, ON1DWN via an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Friday, October 23. Telebridge station VK4KHZ in Australia provided the connection. Twenty questions were asked and answered in front of a large audience including several reporters. The school recently built a replica of the plane, 'Mourane Parasol' which Guynemer (a French pilot) flew during World War I and incorporated the ARISS contact as a feature event in their celebration of 100 years of aviation.

5. Astronaut Jeff Williams has ARISS Contact with Arctic School

On Friday, October 23, students from Samuel Hearne Secondary School in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada experienced an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Expedition 21 astronaut Jeffrey Williams, KD5TVQ. This was a telebridge contact via ground station W6SRJ in California. At the school's request, ARISS representatives visited the school and classrooms prior to the contact to talk about amateur radio and the ISS. Six hundred people attended the event and watched as the students asked Williams 22 questions about life and work in space. CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) Radio and the local and area press covered the event. The school is located very near the Arctic Ocean which makes this the most northerly ARISS contact to date.

6. Canadian Bel Ayr Pathfinders Speak with Robert Thirsk via ARISS

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact took place on Saturday, October 24 between Bel Ayr Pathfinders in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada and Robert Thirsk, VA3CSA on the ISS via telebridge station W6SRJ in California. Thirsk answered 17 questions posed to him by the students as an audience of 160 gathered for the event, including the media (CBC, CTV, a community television station, a radio station and a local newspaper). The Pathfinders that participated in the ARISS contact earned Galactic Adventures badges and will share this experience with other Girl Guides of all ages.

7. ARISSat-1 Meeting Held

The ARISSat-1 Team met in Phoenix, Arizona over the October 23 -25 weekend to assemble and test the integration of the various satellite components. The team has also been compiling voice messages to be included on ARISSat and has been preparing for the Safety Review meeting to be held on Thursday, October 29.

8. ARISS International Meeting Held

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Team meeting was held on Tuesday, October 20. Topics of discussions included a status on the Columbus module antennas and an ARISSat-1 update. See: http://www.rac.ca/ariss/arisstel2009-10-20.htm