Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report August 17, 2009

1. Upcoming School Contacts

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP:3D) Academy in Houston, Texas on Thursday, August 20 at 18:16 UTC via telebridge station W6SRJ in California. KIPP:3D Academy functions as a public charter school, serving middle school age students.

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for Girl and Boy Scouts of Maur "Pfadimuur," in Forch, Switzerland on Saturday, August 22 at 08:20 UTC. Scouts will focus on the theme, "Year of Astronomy," and will earn qualifications in astronomy/space technology, communications, public relations or journalism.

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for the Nova East Star Party, sponsored by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Halifax Center in Nova Scotia, Canada on Saturday, August 22 at 12:54 UTC. This is Atlantic Canada's oldest and largest Star Party and draws both professional as well as amateur astronomers from the Atlantic Provinces, Quebec, Eastern Ontario and the New England States. The focus of the event is public outreach and education. Through daytime seminars and workshops and evening observing sessions, the public is introduced to the wonders of the night sky.

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been approved for Tension Woods College in Mount Gambier, South Australia. The contact is scheduled for Monday, August 24 at 07:19 UTC via telebridge station W6DUE in Maryland. The contact will be integrated into the curriculum's astronomy and physics units through participation in hands-on activities.

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for Volkssterrenwacht Urania in Hove, Antwerp, Belgium on Monday, August 24 at 10:22 UTC via telebridge station W6SRJ in California, assuming STS-128 launches on August 24. (If STS-128 is delayed, the contact will be rescheduled for Monday, August 24 at 11:30 UTC through telebridge station VK4KHZ in Australia.) Urania is a public observatory that raises public awareness of astronomy, meteorology and astronautics. A range of activities and services are available: lessons for beginners and the experienced, guided tours of the observatory, an extended documentation center, various publications, stargazing evenings, conferences, Urania Mobile (Flanders' first mobile observatory) and the astroshop. This "Space Talk" will boost activities at the start of the new season.

2. ARISS Contact Between Robert Thirsk and Ottawa Sports Camp

On Tuesday, August 11, an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was held between Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Astronaut Robert Thirsk, VA3CSA and Ottawa South United Sports Camp held at the Walter Baker Sports Centre in Ontario, Canada. Telebridge station W6SRJ in California facilitated the connection. All 18 questions prepared for the contact were answered with enough time left over for one additional question. Approximately 130 people attended the event. The audio was fed into the EchoLink AMSAT and JK1ZRW conference room servers and the IRLP (Internet Radio Linking Project) Discovery Reflector 9010.

3. ARISS Contact with Euro Space Center, Night of Stars Event

On Thursday, August 13, approximately 200 people attending the Euro Space Center, Night of Stars Event in Transinne, Belgium gathered for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact. Frank DeWinne, ON1DWN on the ISS participated in the contact, answering 20 questions. Telebridge station W6SRJ in California assisted with the contact. The audio was fed into the EchoLink AMSAT and JK1ZRW conference room servers and the IRLP (Internet Radio Linking Project) Discovery Reflector 9010.

4. ARISS Promoted at Quebec Hamfest

On August 1, Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Canadian Delegate Maurice-André Vigneault set up an ARISS display and satellite communication demonstration station at the Quebec City Hamfest in nearby St-Romuald. ARISS Delegate Daniel Lamoureux also participated in the Hamfest. Pamphlets explaining the purpose of ARISS and AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) were handed out. The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) also provided handouts, stickers and decals. The delegates will next visit the Ottawa Hamfest in nearby Carp, Ontario, on September 12 to promote the ARISS program.

5. Astronaut Training Status

Christer Fuglesang, KE5CGR/SA0AFS, was given a review of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) radio system in preparation for an expected contact during the STS-128 mission time frame. Information on his upcoming mission may be found here: http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM56UE3GXF_index_0.html

On Thursday, August 13, an introduction course was also provided to Dan Burbank, KC5ZSX. Burbank is scheduled to fly on a future ISS expedition.

6. Electronics Weekly Interviews ARISS Member

AMSAT-UK's FUNcube satellite has been featured on the front cover of the August 12-18 issue of Electronics Weekly. The full FUNcube article titled, "Bringing FUN back to the classroom," by Steve Bush may be found on page 8 and contains an interview with Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) member Graham Shirville, G3VZV. See: http://cde.cerosmedia.com/1D4a803d8814a11352.cde

7. ARRL QST Covers ARISS News

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) published two small ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) related news items in its September 2009 issue of QST. One item pointed readers to the article on the Garriotts, "Two Generations of Hams in Space" that ran in The Bridge, printed by the Electrical and Computer Engineering Honor Society. The second item was a notice to readers that space shuttle Endeavour carried three astronauts to the ISS who are hams and would be doing ARISS educational activities.

The ARRL monthly journal has a circulation of 150,000.