An International Space Station Expedition 15 ARISS school contact has been planned with participants at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum's Space Day on 05 May. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 18:01 UTC.

The contact will be a telebridge between stations NA1SS and W6SRJ. The contact should be audible in western portions of North America. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English.

Space Day 2007 will be another action-packed day of astronaut appearances, hands-on activities, book signings, tours, and special stories for children, all surrounded by the world's most famous space artifacts. Especially exciting will be a sneak peek at the much-anticipated successor to the space shuttle, the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle. This Lockheed Martin-designed spacecraft of the future will be on view in the shadow of one of the most historic spacecraft of the past - the Apollo 11 command module, Columbia. Have a blast learning how you can build your own model rocket with the Northern Virginia Association of Rocketry. The group will bring their own home-built rockets for you to see and lots of information on building a flyable rocket. Local robotics teams will show off their latest creations with a robot petting zoo. The teams will demonstrate their expertise in building and running robots for competition. Participating organizations include Lockheed Martin, NASA, and AMSAT-Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation.

Participants will ask as many of questions as time allows. Due to the live nature of this event, no advance copies of the questions are available

Please note, the amateur equipment on the ISS is not functioning in the automatic modes properly and may be silent more than usual. Information about the next scheduled ARISS contact can be found at http://www.rac.ca/ariss/upcoming.htm#NextContact .

Next planned event(s): Sunset Mesa Schools, Albuquerque, New Mexico, direct via W5SCA, Wed 2007-05-09 14:39 UTC Escola Secundaria de Estarreja, Estarreja, Portugal, direct via CT6ESE, Wed 2007-05-09 14:58 UTC

ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the participating space agencies, NASA, Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES, JAXA, and CSA, with the AMSAT and IARU organizations from participating countries.

ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crewmembers on-board the International Space Station. Teachers, parents and communities see, first hand, how Amateur Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize youngsters' interest in science, technology, and learning. Further information on the ARISS program is available on the website http://www.rac.ca/ariss (graciously hosted by the Radio Amateurs of Canada).

Thank you & 73, Kenneth - N5VHO