Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report November 23, 2009

1. Upcoming School Contacts

Dumbleyung Primary School has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Thursday, November 26 at 11:51 UTC via telebridge station VK4KHZ in Australia. Students have discussed and explored all aspects of Earth and its position within the solar system, as well as the Earth's structure and how it impacts the way people live.

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been approved for Institut Don Bosco in Bruxelles, Belgium. The contact will take place on Thursday, November 26 at 12:49 UTC via telebridge station ON4ISS in Belgium. Don Bosco is a secondary industrial technical school with an enrollment of approximately 750 students and offers courses in carpentry, electricity, mechanics, computing, printing and electronics.

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for Katholieke Centrumscholen Sint-Truiden in Sint-Truiden, Belgium on Thursday, November 26 at 14:24 UTC via telebridge station ON4ISS in Belgium. In preparation for the contact, students have studied astronomy and science. Frank De Winne's son is a student at the school.

2. ARISS Contact with Belgium's First Congress for Children

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was held on Tuesday, November 17 with youth attending IKANDA, the first congress for children in Belgium, which was organized by Flanders District of Creativity and the Department of Education of the Flemish Government. The connection was made possible through ground station LU8YY in Argentina. Through this space chat, the highlight of IKANDA, Frank De Winne, ON1DWN answered 20 questions posed to him by the sixth graders. IKANDA, which in Flemish means "I can do that," was organized with a goal of showing children that when passion and talent come together, all things are possible. The conference arranged for keynote speakers and interactive workshops for 1400 twelve year olds. Dirk Frimout and Sijtn Meuris were present and gave presentations on space and astronomy.

3. Bennett Venture Academy Contact Successful

On Friday, November 20, Robert Thirsk, VA3CSA participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Bennett Venture Academy students in Toledo, Ohio. The ARISS activity was integrated into the Ohio Content Standards for Earth and Space Sciences for 5th and 8th grades, and the Scientific Inquiry and Technology Standards for K-8 grades, engaging students in the investigation of radio waves and space exploration. During the event, an audience of over seven hundred watched as twelve students asked twenty questions of the astronaut. Media coverage was provided by two television stations - Channel 11(NBC), and Channel 24 (Fox).

4. ARISS Antennas Installed on Columbus Module

On Saturday, November 21, the new ARISS VHF/UHF antenna as well as the Automatic Identification System (AIS) VHF antenna was installed on the ISS Columbus module during the second extravehicular activity (EVA) of the STS-129 mission. ARISS plans to move an onboard radio to the Columbus module to make use of its new antenna. The other antenna will be used to support the AIS maritime experiment to help track the passage of ships across the world's oceans.

5. ISS Ham Debrief Held with Astronaut Michael Barratt

On November 16, Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) team members participated in an ISS Ham debrief session with Expedition 19/20 astronaut Michael Barratt. Barratt provided the team with feedback about the ARISS contacts held during his ISS mission. The feedback will be used to fine-tune ARISS program operations.

6. ARISS' Hutchison, Senior Australian of the Year Finalist

On November 20, Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1684 reported on ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) member Tony Hutchison who was one of four finalists from South Australia in the Senior Australian of the Year Competition. Hutchison was recognized for his contributions to the ARISS program as a school mentor and telebridge station operator as well as piquing school children's interest in ham radio. The story may be found under "Names in the News." See: ftp://ftp.arnewsline.org/quincy/News/news.txt

The Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) ran a story on Hutchison's accomplishment as well. See: http://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2009/20091116-1/index.php

7. Astronaut Training Status

Two training sessions were held this week with astronauts Tracy Caldwell, KF5DBF and Dan Burbank, KC5ZSX. Both astronauts were given the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) basic operations and school contact course. Caldwell also received her preflight overview as she is scheduled to fly with Expedition 23 in April 2010. Burbank will fly with Expedition 29 in September 2011.