Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report June 8, 2009

1. Upcoming School Contacts

Tongfu Road No. 1 Primary School in Guangzhou, Guangdong, P.R. China has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Thursday, June 11 at 08:24 UTC. The school is over 70 years old with an enrollment of over 1000 students. An amateur radio club was established at the school in 2007 and won the national youngster's amateur radio contest that same year. Elective courses on amateur radio, space technology and ARISS are offered to the students. Media coverage is planned with newspapers, television and the internet.

Liceo Scientifico "A. Bafile" in L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy has been approved for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Friday, June 12 at 06:52 UTC. L'Aquila was hit by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake on April 6. The schools suffered major damage and students are now being taught under school-tents provided by the Italian Ministry of Education (MIUR) and by Civil Defense (DPC). Teachers have redesigned their educational proposals in order to keep the attention of students that are still shocked by the quake. Teachers believe that an ARISS school contact can give students a wider look on their future.

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been tentatively scheduled for Vrije Basisschool Terbank-Egenhoven in Heverlee, Belgium on Friday, June 12 at 11:38 UTC via telebridge station ON4ISS in Belgium. This elementary school will use the topic of space travel to pique students' interest in science and technology. The school houses a science classroom with 4 hands-on experiments related to physics, chemistry, technology, and computer science that change every three weeks. An electronics project is planned for fifth and sixth grade students to build small AM radios. Technopolis, Scientastic and "Professor Atoom" in collaboration with the University of Leuven Chemistry Department will provide scientific activities for the children as well.

2. ARISS Contact with Mahopac Public Library

Youth visiting Mahopac Public Library in Mahopac, New York participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Wednesday, June 3. The contact was made possible through telebridge station ON4ISS in Belgium. Ten students chatted with JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata, KC5ZTA who answered 18 questions posed to him.

3. ARISS Contact with Koichi Wakata

On Saturday, June 6, Kawanishi Seiwadai Community Center in Hyogo, Japan experienced a successful Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Koichi Wakata, KC5ZTA. An audience of approximately 400 gathered and watched as twenty-three students asked one question each of the astronaut. Seven newspapers and five television stations, including NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) covered the event.

4. 2008 Moscow ARISS International Meeting Minutes Posted

The 2008 Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Face to Face Meeting was held in Moscow on July 17-18. The meeting minutes and presentations have been posted to the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) Web site. See: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/Meetings/2008_Moscow/

The minutes have also been posted to the ARISS Web site: http://www.rac.ca/ariss/2008%20Moscow%20ARISS-I%20Meeting%20Minutes%20Final....

5. ARISS News on Amateur Radio Newsline

On June 5, Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1660 provided information about the 2009 Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) Space Symposium and ARISS Operations Team Meetings which will be held Friday - Sunday, October 9 -11 at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel near the Baltimore Washington International Airport. See: ftp://ftp.arnewsline.org/quincy/News-A/news.txt .