Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report February 16, 2009

1. Upcoming School Contacts

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled with South Park Elementary Center in South Park, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, February 17 at 18:11 UTC via telebridge station K6DUE in Maryland. Students have participated in a contest to determine which questions will be asked of astronaut Mike Fincke, KE5AIT. They have learned about astronauts, shuttles and NASA and have created posters or written essays (depending on grade level) about space related topics. Newspapers, radio and television coverage is anticipated.

Salluit Schools in Salluit, Quebec, Canada have been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Thursday, February 19 at 14:17 UTC via telebridge station W6SRJ in California. Approximately 400 students from Kindergarten through Secondary are enrolled in the schools located in a remote North-West Quebec Inuit community. Teachers have included space related topics in their curriculum. All students have created artwork for the event and have submitted questions to ask the astronaut. During morning announcements, a "cool space fact of the day" has been announced daily. The Nunatisaq News may cover the event.

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been approved for Erie Planetarium in Erie, Pennsylvania. It will take place on Saturday, February 21 at 18:19 UTC via telebridge station W6SRJ in California. The Planetarium offers astronomy programs, interactive stations and science experiments throughout the year.

2. Italian Students Contact ISS

On Tuesday, February 10, students from Istituto Comprensivo Pietrasanta1-Scuola Secondaria 1° Grado "Padre Eugenio Barsanti" participated in a successful Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact. Students posed 12 questions to Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, in front of an audience of 350. Contact video was streamed live on the Web and was seen in 14 countries and in more than 36 different towns around the world. Local television stations and newspapers covered the event. Video of the contact has been posted to the OndaForte TV Web site. See: http://www.ondaforte.tv/eventi/ariss_school_contact/index.php

3. Greek Contact Successful

On Wednesday, February 11, an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact took place with students from Alexandroupolis School of Special Education and 11th Alexandroupolis Primary School in Greece. Students asked 20 questions of Sandra Magnus, KE5FYE, in front of an audience of approximately 200. Another 700 students from four schools listened to the contact in the garden. A representative of the Greek Minister of Telecommunications and the Director of Education of Evros also attended. Three television stations, two radio stations and newspapers covered the event.

4. ARISS Presentation at MACUL Conference

The Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) will host its 33rd annual conference in Detroit, Michigan on March 18-20. MACUL aims to bring educators together to share knowledge about educational uses of computers and technology. ARISS member Steve Michalski, KB9UPS, will participate in the conference and give a talk on the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program, showing clips of the Martin Luther King Academy (Mount Clemens, Michigan) ARISS contact which took place in September 2007. The MACUL conference draws 3,000 educators annually.

5. Photos of German Contact Posted

Städtisches Gymnasium Herzogenrath in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, on Saturday, February 7. Photos of the contact have been posted on the Web. See: http://picasaweb.google.de/Rueliman/ARISSContact?feat=directlink#

6. ARRL QST Covers ARISS News

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) published two Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) news items in its March 2009 issue of QST.

Under "Media Hits" (page 12) is an item on the Ohio Department of Education Web story about the September 2008 ARISS contact with students at the Challenger Learning Center of Lucas County in Toledo. Also listed is the Ann Arbor Chronicle article about the Ann Arbor, Michigan Hands On Museum contact.

The ARRL monthly journal has a circulation of 150,000.

7. ARISS Member Dieter Schliemann Dies

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) team member Dieter Schliemann, KX4Y, passed away on Monday, February 9. Dieter had been responsible for coordinating and expanding the educational outreach of ARISS through the use of Voice over the Internet Protocol (VoIP) with Internet Radio Linking Project (IRLP) and EchoLink. As his health deteriorated, Dieter continued his support, making sure that others would carry on in his absence. He will be sorely missed. Dieter was a member of the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) and the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). ARRL posted an article on his contributions: https://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/02/12/10647/?nc=1