Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report October 19, 2009

1. Upcoming School Contacts

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for Istituto Comprensivo "Romualdo TRIFONE" in Montecorvino Rovella, Salerno, Italy on Tuesday, October 20 at 07:41 UTC. Students have participated in science and technology educational activities. Teachers have collaborated with astrophysicists of the Astronomical Observatory "Giancamillo Glorious" in M. Rovella and the local amateur radio group ARI Salerno.

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for C. E. M. IV in Mbour, Senegal on Friday, October 23 at 10:28 UTC. Plans have been made to install a complete NOAA satellite reception system in the school. The students have studied orbit predictions, tracking programs and systems, receiver techniques and antennas. A video conference is planned with the Swiss astronaute Claude Nicollier, HB9CN.

VTI Ieper in Ieper, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Friday, October 23 at 11:11 UTC via telebridge station VK4KHZ in Australia. The school will use the question and answer session with Expedition 21 astronaut Frank De Winne to commemorate 100 years of aviation.

Samuel Hearne Secondary School in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Friday, October 23 at 16:27 UTC via telebridge station W6SRJ in California. The school has an enrollment of 400 students in grades 7-12. Inuvik (the place of man) is situated on the banks of the Mackenzie River and is very close to the Arctic Ocean. It is the economic hub of the Western Arctic.

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for Belayr Pathfinders in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada on Saturday, October 24 at 15:12 UTC via telebridge station W6SRJ in California. The Pathfinders participating in the ARISS program will be able to earn the Galactic Adventures badge.

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 asteroids, using rules of the science naming process. In October the winners travel 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 via station W6SRJ in California. Sherbrooke Community School fosters student participation and the advancement of amateur radio in the community. It operates Sherbrooke Community Club station, VK3KID. The school has 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 have collaborated on this event.

2. ARISS Contact Between Thirsk and Boundary Beach Students

On Tuesday, October 13, students from Boundary Beach Elementary School in Delta, British Columbia, Canada spoke with astronaut Robert Thirsk, VA3CSA on the ISS via an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact. Seventeen questions were answered, including one from the radio team. The contact was made possible through the Langley Amateur Radio Association. To prepare for the contact, students got involved in many space related activities and participated in Dr. Thirsk's "Get Fit for Space" program.

3. Glenmore Christian Academy Experiences ARISS Contact

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact occurred on Wednesday, October 14 between Glenmore Christian Academy students in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and Robert Thirsk, VA3CSA. Nearly six hundred students, teachers, parents and guests gathered to watch the youth ask 20 questions of the astronaut. CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) and CTV (Canadian television) covered the event.

4. ARISS Contact with UNICEF - Mali

Children in Gao, Mali participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Thursday, October 15 via telebridge station K6DUE in Maryland. The contact was held as part of the UNICEF WaSH (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene) campaign. Astronaut Frank De Winne, ON1DWN, a UNICEF Belgium goodwill ambassador, spoke to the children, answering 5 questions.

5. JOTA Contact Unsuccessful

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was scheduled for Jamboree on the Air (JOTA), Boy Scouts of America Headquarters in Irving, Texas on Saturday, October 17. Due to technical difficulties, the contact did not take place. Contact demonstrations on other satellites were given during the day, however, and there was an amateur radio balloon flight as well. Scouts also took part in a Jamboree on the Internet (JOTI) activity. Approximately 400 Scouts, parents and officials attended the event.

6. NASA Reports on ARISS Contact

NASA posted as one of its "Daily Top Stories" an article from the Vancouver Sun about the October 9 Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Belmont Elementary School:

Hundreds Of Students "Enthralled" Talking To ISS Astronaut. The Vancouver Sun (10/10, 178K) reported, "Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk zipped through the heavens above Langley's Ecole Belmont elementary school Friday, riding the International Space Station and chatting with 533 enthralled students." The event was organized by "ARISS (Amateur Radio International Space Station), a NASA- sponsored educational outreach program." According to the article, "Judging by the reaction of the children sitting cross-legged in the gym, the program was an obvious hit."

7. ARRL Letter Posts Article on Columbus Antennas

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) ran an article, written by ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) delegate Rosalie White, about the ARISS Columbus antennas in the October 15 issue of the ARRL Letter. To view "Amateur Radio in Space : Columbus Antennas to Take to the Skies," go to: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/index.html?issue=2009-10-15

8. ARRL QST Covers ARISS News

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) published three ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) related news items in its November 2009 issue of QST. Under the "In Brief" column is a short item about the STS-128 launching on August 28 with 3 ham astronaut crew members.

A second item appears in the "Media Hits" column which has a short note about Make Magazine running an article on SuitSat (now ARISSat-1).

The final item is an article titled "2009 Teachers Institute Introduced Advanced Satellite Workshop" which describes an experiment to teach a workshop to teachers on how to use ham radio satellite communications to teach technology. One workshop participant, a staff member of the NASA Aerospace Education Services Project, [Jim Fitzgerald, KC8WWJ], wrote on his evaluation form that he thought AESP could use some of the workshop materials to help with professional development of educators using technology in their classrooms.

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

9. AMSAT Symposium Update

The AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) Symposium was held over the October 9 - 11 weekend in Baltimore, Maryland. AMSAT President Barry Baines' presentation has been posted to the AMSAT Web site. The presentation names ARISS as a partner and indicates continued support of the ARISSat-1 project. See: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/index.php A video of symposium highlights was put together and has been posted on YouTube. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1efXlL75dvA