Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report April 13, 2009

1. Upcoming School Contacts

Students from Ulvila Upper Secondary School in Ulvila, Satakunta, Finland have been preparing for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact, scheduled for Friday, April 17 at 07:40 UTC. They have studied physics and astronomy and have researched the ISS. They have written essays and created posters on related subject matter. Students have also learned about amateur radio. Newspaper, radio and television coverage is anticipated.

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for St. Edward School in Ashland, Ohio, U.S.A. on Monday, April 20 at 16:36 UTC. The ARISS contact has been integrated into the science curriculum which covers topics on satellite images, global positioning of satellites, telescopes, and radio waves. Students read science related books and poems, conducted informational internet searches, wrote stories and informational articles, interviewed amateur radio operators, and studied and applied science and math objectives. Media coverage is expected.

2. Japanese Contact to be Rescheduled

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was scheduled for Thursday, April 9 between Kawanishi Seiwadai Community Center in Hyogo, Japan and Koichi Wakata, KC5ZTA onboard the ISS. Due to technical difficulties, the contact did not take place. The contact will be rescheduled in the near future.

3. Parkside Contact Video

On Monday, March 30, students from Parkside Community College in Cambridge, U.K. took part in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Spaceflight Participant Charles Simonyi, KE7KDP/HA5SIK. Video of the contact is now available. See: http://www.it-sparkles.co.uk/ARISS/Parkside.aspx

4. Article Posted on ARISS - Kalori Contact

On Wednesday, April 1, Kalori Catholic School students in Wallaroo, Australia experienced an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Mike Fincke, KE5AIT. The Yorke Peninsula Country Times published an article covering the event. See: http://www.ypct.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=484...

5. ARRL Article on CLC Contact

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) ran a story about an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact that took place in October 2008 between the Indianapolis Challenger Learning Center (CLC) and Spaceflight Participant Richard Garriott, W5KWQ. The article, "Hams Mentor Challenger Center Students for Garriott Contact," may be found here: http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2009/04/08/10758/?nc=1

The ARRL Web site has 100,000 regular readers.

6. ARISS News on Amateur Radio Newsline

On April 3, the Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1652 included an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) news item. The story, "Ham Radio in Space: KE7KDP, KE5AIT and RA3DT Return from the ISS," summarizes the ARISS accomplishments of Charles Simonyi and Mike Fincke during their missions. To view the story, go to: ftp://ftp.arnewsline.org/quincy/News/news.txt

7. Astronaut Training Status

The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) team provided another training session to Mike Fossum on Thursday, April 9 to prepare him for his amateur radio license exam.

8. ARISS Report to WIA

The Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) will hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) over the May 1-3 weekend. Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) mentor and telebridge station operator Tony Hutchison, VK5ZAI will give his ARISS 2008-09 report. It has been posted on the ARISS Web site under "Latest News." See: http://www.rac.ca/ariss/oindex.htm

9. ARISS-Related Article in NASA HQ News Briefs

NASA Headquarters News Service cited an op-ed found in the Times of London. The item, written by Lucy and Stephen Hawking, mentions Richard Garriott's mission and how he inspired youth through his numerous radio contacts while onboard the ISS. See: http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/arti...

10. Simonyi PowerPoint Presentation

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) volunteer prepared a PowerPoint presentation on Spaceflight Participant Charles Simonyi's mission and used this during the Milwee Middle School (Longwood, Florida) contact on April 1. To view the slideshow, go to www.mydrive.ch/en. Enter username, "plethra2" and password, "aa4kn_1". Select the "ARISS SLIDE SHOW" folder and download the available files.

11. SuitSat-2 Meeting Held

A SuitSat-2 meeting was held in Phoenix, Arizona on April 3 - 5. The team primarily worked on software, but there was also some final coordination on the cabling and hardware. The software team was able to run some integration tests and achieved the first radio frequency (RF) output of the system. During the testing, the team demonstrated the continuous wave (CW) and voice message transmissions. Work continues on the solar panel mounting. Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) plans to have SuitSat-2 hardware ready for delivery by September.