Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report August 15, 2011

1. Upcoming School Contact

Yokohama Kurata Elementary School, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Tuesday, August 16 at 09:57 UTC. All 506 students from grades 1-6 will be taught age appropriate lessons covering space physics, the ISS (mission, orbit, etc.) and radio communications (VHF, Doppler Effect, antennas) to prepare for this activity.

2. Caribbean Youth Radio ISS

On Monday, August 8, children attending the Caribbean Youth Science Forum (CYSF), a regional event sponsored by the National Institute for Higher Education, Research, Science & Technology (NIHERST) and located in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, West Indies, participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact. Telebridge station LU8YY in Argentina provided the radio connection. The youth interacted with Astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, KE5DAW on the ISS, receiving answers to ten of their questions about space. The contact was integrated into the CYSF which included lectures, field trips, projects and debates that promoted science, technology and innovation. The forum hosted 250 students this year from 6 countries. Newsday reported on the contact: http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,145262.html

3. Italian Camp Contacts ISS

A successful Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was held between on-orbit astronaut Ron Garan, KF5GPO and the Youth Hostel "La Foresta" in Perugia, Italy on Thursday, August 11 via station K6DUE in Greenbelt, Maryland. Garan fielded 18 questions posed to him by the children. The camp, organized by Panda Adventure in cooperation with ESA /ESRIN, focuses on space education and provides activities such as field researches, experiments, use of technical instruments, and games to explore the Earth and Sky.

4. ARISS-U.S. Reviews Proposals

The NASA Teaching From Space Office received over 100 inquiries about the U.S. proposal process for ARISS contacts that will be scheduled during the January - July 2012 time frame. Twenty-four schools met the July 15 deadline and submitted proposals. The U.S. Selection Committee is currently reviewing the proposals and will select U.S. schools by the end of the month. Another window of opportunity for U.S. schools and organizations to submit proposals will open later in the year.

5. ARISSat-1 Update

ARISSat-1, an educational satellite that was developed by AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) in cooperation with the NASA Office of Education ISS National Lab, Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) and RSC-Energia, was deployed on Wednesday, August 3 during Russian EVA-29. Ground stations have been receiving signals from the satellite, picking up telemetry - both spacecraft and Kursk experiment data, SSTV images, greetings and CW beacons. Current information concerning the satellite, including battery status, has been posted to the ARISSat-1 Web site: http://www.arissat1.org/v3/

To view SSTV images: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/SSTV/

6. AMSAT Covers ARISSat-1 Status

On August 14, the AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) News Service bulletin (ANS-226) posted several stories about ARISSat-1, providing a status on the satellite and its battery as well as information on how to receive an ARISSat certificate. AMSAT also announced its Chicken Little Contest through which one can guess the date of satellite re-entry. The following stories may be viewed at: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/archive/amsat-bb/48hour/msg89000.html

- ARISSat-1/KEDR at +10 Days: ON-ORBIT and OPERATIONAL - Send For Your ARISSat-1/KEDR Certificates - AMSAT Contest - ARISSat-1 Battery is failing faster than expected

7. EE Times - ARISSat Blog

The fourth and fifth entries in EE (Electronic Engineering) Times "Chips in Space" blog covering amateur radio satellite ARISSat-1 have been posted. See:

http://eetimes.com/electronics-blogs/chips-in-space/4218536/Chips-in-Space--...

http://eetimes.com/electronics-blogs/other/4218756/Chips-in-Space--Let-s-loo...

8. Amateur Radio Newsline on ARISSat-1

On August 12, the Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1774 included an item on the certificates available for receiving signals from ARISSat-1. To view, "Ham Radio in Space: Certificates Offered for Assisting ARISSat-1," see: ftp://ftp.arnewsline.org/quincy/News/news.txt

9. DXCoffee Article on Ham Radio in Space

The Italian site DXCoffee.com printed a story about the history of amateur radio in space. The article covers amateur radio used by Owen Garriott, the Mir station, SAREX and ARISS and includes recent contacts with Doug Wheelock and Paolo Nespoli. "Radio in space: in the Beginning there was SAREX," may be viewed here: http://www.dxcoffee.com/eng/2011/08/10/radio-space-beginning-sarex/