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

November 26, 2012

1. Upcoming School Contact

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for Liceo Linguistico and Scuola Media Basel in Basel, Switzerland on Thursday, November 29 at 13:37 UTC via telebridge station W6SRJ in California. The contact complements lesson plans covering space and space exploration.

2. Italian Students Host ARISS Contact

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was held between Kevin Ford, KF5GPP and students attending Liceo scientifico Giacinto De Sivo - Fondazione Villaggio dei Ragazzi in Maddaloni, Italy on Tuesday, November 20 via telebridge station IK1SLD in Italy. Over 300 students listened as the ISS astronaut fielded 15 questions posed by the youth. Ford requested a switch to the backup channel half way through the contact due to some interference, but the contact continued on nominally after the switch. The event was webcast by AMSAT Italia and received good media coverage. The contact was integrated into lessons covering the developments in astronomy from a scientific, philosophical and literary point of view.

3. ARRL on ARISS

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) posted an article about ISS Expedition 32/33 crewmembers Sunita Williams, Yuri Malenchenko and Akihiko Hoshide returning to Earth after completing their mission, which included speaking with school children around the world. "Three Hams Return to Earth from ISS" may be viewed at: http://www.arrl.org/news/three-hams-return-to-earth-from-iss

4. AMSAT News Service on ARISS

The November 25 AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) News Service bulletin (ANS-330) included several ARISS news items. The stories, "Successful ARISS School Contacts This Week" and "Three Astronaut Hams Return Safely From ISS" may be found at: http://amsat.org/pipermail/ans/2012/000668.html

5. Amateur Radio Newsline Covers ARISS

The November 23 Amateur Radio Newsline report #1841 had a story covering the transition between Expedition 33 and Expedition 34 crewmembers. The article, "Names in the News: Three Astro-Hams Return to Earth" may be viewed at:

http://www.arnewsline.org/storage/scripts/nsln1841.txt