Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report March 22, 2010

1. Upcoming School Contacts

Shiogama Daini Junior High School in Shiogama, Japan has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Thursday, March 25 at 07:44 UTC. To prepare for the contact, students studied astronomy and were introduced to the Hubble Space Telescope. They also learned about radio communications and some continued their studies and prepared for their amateur radio license exams.

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for Walnut Creek Elementary School in Azle, Texas on Monday, March 29 at 15:08 UTC. Each student researched and created a model of a selected space object and then presented his work to the class. Retired Lockheed employees and members of local radio clubs gave demonstrations of satellite communications to the youth. The school recently formed an amateur radio club and students have enjoyed learning what radios can do.

2. Greece Students Question Astronaut via ARISS Contact

On Tuesday, March 16, Timothy Creamer, KC5WKI connected with students attending18 Dimotiko Scholeio Peristeriou in Athens, Greece via an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact. Students posed 19 questions to the on-orbit astronaut during the ISS overhead pass as an audience of 700 students, teachers and community members gathered to watch the event. Several dignitaries were present, including the General Secretary for Communications of the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunication of Greece, the Mayor of Peristeri (Athens) and the four vice mayors of Peristeri City. The contact was integrated into the school's science curriculum covering subjects on astronomy and radio communications.

3. Astronaut Training Status

On Monday, March 15, astronaut Paolo Nespoli, IZ0JPA participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) simulated contact with students from Quintino Sella, Biella, Italy with audio available on IRLP (Internet Radio Linking Project). This training session was a terrestrial-based amateur radio contact using ARISS equivalent equipment. Nespoli is slated to fly with Expedition 26 in November 2010.

4. ARISS International Team Meeting Held

The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) international team met for the monthly teleconference on March 16. Status reports were given on the Columbus module radio equipment as well as ARISSat-1. Minutes have been posted. See: https://www.rac.ca/ariss/arisstel2010-03-16.htm