Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report June 29, 2009

1. Upcoming School Contact

Inukjuak Space Camp in Kuujjuaq Quebec, Canada has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Wednesday, July 1 at 14:25 UTC assisted by telebridge station W6SRJ in California. Makivik Corporation, a non-profit organization that promotes economic growth of Inuit businesses, is supporting the event. Students from grades 1-6 have been involved in a space club to learn about space, the ISS and radio protocol.

2. Successful ARISS Contact with ESA Astronaut Frank De Winne

On Monday, June 22, students from Centre scolaire de Berlaymont in Waterloo, Belgium experienced a successful Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Frank De Winne, ON1DWN on the ISS. Telebridge station W6SRJ in California facilitated the contact. An audience of approximately 500 students, parents and guests gathered and watched as the youth asked 25 questions about life and work in space. The audio was fed into the AMSAT and JK1ZRW servers. Among the media covering the contact were two newspapers and a national television station.

3. Belgian High School Students Participate in ARISS Contact

On Saturday, June 27, students attending Grote-Hogeschool, Departement IWT in Hoboken, Belgium experienced an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact. The contact was held in conjunction with the school's information day which focused on motivating high school students to continue their studies in technical fields such as engineering. The contact was made possible through telebridge station W6SRJ in California. Twenty students posed one question each to European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Frank De Winne, ON1DWN. Approximately 250 students and guests attended the event. Media coverage included television stations and newspapers. Expanded outreach was provided by EchoLink and Internet Radio Linking Project (IRLP) audio feeds.

4. ARRL Article on Field Day

On Thursday, June 25, the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) ran an article about Field Day and the possibility of astronaut participation. See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/06/25/10910/?nc=1

Expedition 20 crew member Robert Thirsk, VA3CSA did make several general contacts during this annual event.

5. Astronaut Training Status

Simulated contacts are being planned for four licensed astronauts during the week of June 29. Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP, Timothy J. Creamer, KC5WKI, Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC and Satoshi Furukawa, KE5DAW are tentatively scheduled for these training sessions, which are terrestrial-based amateur radio contacts using Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) equivalent equipment.