Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report

November 19, 2012

1. Upcoming School Contact

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for Liceo scientifico Giacinto De Sivo - Fondazione Villaggio dei Ragazzi in Maddaloni, Italy on Tuesday, November 20 at 08:31 UTC using radio station IK1SLD in Italy. The contact will be incorporated into lessons focused on the developments in astronomy from a scientific, philosophical and literary point of view.

2. Successful ARISS Contacts Held

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was held between Sunita Williams, KD5PLB on the ISS and students visiting the Gujarat Science City (GSC) in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India on Wednesday, November 14 via telebridge station IK1SLD in Italy. The children got in 15 questions about daily life on the ISS before losing the radio connection. GSC has high-tech exhibitions covering space exploration and communications; the contact was part of a special outreach program of the GSC, organized to provide students with hands-on activities related to the ISS. The displays and activities provide children with the motivation and inspiration for a career and future in space science and research. The Times of India covered the event. See: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Excited-kids-go-on-space-t alk-with-Sunita/articleshow/17250710.cms

On November 16, Florida's Flagler Palm Coast Amateur Radio Club (FPCARC) connected with Astronaut Sunita Williams, KD5PLB via an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact. Indian Trails Middle School hosted the event, but students from other area schools also participated. Former NASA astronaut Winston Scott gave a presentation to the students. All schools in the district were able to participate in the event through live internet streaming. Media representatives were present and articles have been posted.

FlaglerLive.com has a story: http://flaglerlive.com/46845/ham-radio-iss/

For the Palm Coast Observer article, see:

http://www.palmcoastobserver.com/news/palm-coast/Neighborhood/111720125718/S tudents-get-visit-from-astronaut-talk-to-space-st

3. ARISS Contact with Cumberland Elementary School - Video

Cumberland Elementary School participated in an ARISS contact on October 30. Students had the opportunity to question Indiana native Kevin Ford, KF5GPP about ISS life. The contact video is now available. See: http://cumberland-iss.weebly.com

4. Video of ARISS Contact at JOTA Event

Scouts visiting the National Scouting Museum in Irving, Texas on October 20 took part in the Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) event and spoke with Sunita Williams, KD5PLB on the ISS. Video of the contact may be viewed at:

http://vimeo.com/53281390

5. ARRL QST on ARISS

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) published some ARISS-related news in its December QST. The "In Brief" column included a short item about Astronaut Lee Morin, KF5DDB, being ARRL's guest at the 2012 ARRL National Convention, which merged with the annual Pacificon (ARRL Pacific Division Convention) in Santa Clara, CA. Convention attendees met Lee in the ARRL exhibit area; he was a forum presenter, and also the Saturday night banquet speaker.

A second two-page article called "Pacificon Wrap-Up" was about the 2012 ARRL National Convention, which merged with the annual Pacificon in Santa Clara. The article covered convention activities such as the ARISS contact and Astronaut Lee Morin's well-received banquet presentation. The writer stated, "The ARRL National Convention was also honored to have NASA's Dr. Lee Morin, KF5DDB, attend and spend so much time with the kids and hams, who greatly enjoyed meeting a real astronaut. Lee also gave a couple of terrific presentations. I think if they had weighed just a little bit less, several of these kids would have achieved orbit all by themselves! Thank you, Lee." The article included a photograph of Dr. Morin with a youngster who had on a white jumpsuit with a NASA patch. The photo caption said, "Capt. Lee Morin, KF5DDB, gave kids like Ben a thrill as they met their first real astronaut. At Pacificon Lee helped with a successful ARISS contact between youth at Pacificon and the International Space Station."

6. AMSAT News Service on ARISS

The November 18 AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) News Service bulletin (ANS-323) included two write-ups on the ARISS contacts held in Italy earlier this month. It also contained an item about recent SSTV images transmitted from the ISS. See: http://amsat.org/pipermail/ans/2012/000667.html