Archived ARISS status reports *********************** March 1, 2010 1. Upcoming School Contact Expedition 22 astronaut Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP will participate in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Hamasuka Junior High School in Chigasaki City, Kanagawa, Japan on Thursday, March 4. This is a direct contact and is scheduled for 10:09 UTC. Noguchi is an alumnus of the school. 2. Timothy Creamer Chats with Doncaster Students via ARISS Contact On Thursday, February 25, Timothy Creamer, KC5WKI spoke with Doncaster Primary School students in Doncaster, Victoria, Australia via an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact. The connection was made through telebridge ground station VK4KHZ in Queensland. Two hundred fifty guests attended the event and watched as the students asked nineteen questions of the on-orbit astronaut. The students were involved in many activities leading up to the contact in their Physics, Space, Geography, and English classes. During one such activity, the students researched a place in the solar system and created a short television program for the intergalactic travel show “Postcards.” 3. ARISS Annual Report 2009 Posted The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Annual Report 2009 has been posted to the AMSAT Web site. See: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/Papers/Annual%20Reports/ARISS_Annual_Report_2009_Final.pdf 4. ARISS News on Amateur Radio Newsline The February 26, Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1698 includes one item about the ARISS program. The “Ham Radio in Space” article summarizes the ARISSat Design Review meeting held in Orlando, Florida. See: ftp://ftp.arnewsline.org/quincy/News/news.txt *********************** February 22, 2010 1. Upcoming School Contact An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled with Doncaster Primary School in Doncaster, Victoria, Australia on Thursday, February 25 at 08:23 UTC. Astronaut Timothy Creamer, KC5WKI will make the connection through telebridge ground station VK4KHZ in Australia. The contact has been integrated into school subjects such as physics, space, geography and English. 2. ARISS International Team Meeting Held The monthly Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Team teleconference was held on Tuesday, February 16. A status was given on the Columbus module as well as ARISSat-1. The minutes have been posted. See: https://www.rac.ca/ariss/arisstel2010-02-16.htm 3. ARISS News on Amateur Radio Newsline The February 19, Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1697 included one ARISS news item. The “Ham Radio in Space” article was about astronaut Ron Garan studying to obtain his amateur radio license. See: ftp://ftp.arnewsline.org/quincy/News/news.txt 4. ARISSat-1 Meeting Held An ARISSat Design Review was held in Orlando, Florida on Monday and Tuesday, February 15 – 16. Thirteen members attended the meeting and gave 23 presentations concerning the status of ARISSat-1. A write-up on the meeting can be found on the AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) Web site. Links to the presentations will be posted soon. See: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/index.php *********************** February 15, 2010 1. Astronaut Training Status Astronaut Ron Garan participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program training session and plans to study for his amateur radio license. He is scheduled to fly with the Expedition 27 crew in March 2011. Expedition 23 cosmonauts, both prime and backup crew members, received training on the ARISS radio equipment. See: http://www.energia.ru/en/news/news-2010/photo_02-05.html 2. ARRL QST Covers ARISS News The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) published an ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) news item in its March 2010 issue of QST. Under "This Just In" is an item about the record number of ARISS educational activities coordinated in 2009. The ARRL monthly journal has a circulation of 150,000. 3. ARISSat-1 Meeting to be Held ARISS members will meet Monday and Tuesday, February 15 – 16 in Orlando, Florida for a Design and Safety Review of ARISSat-1. The team will use this meeting to prepare for the upcoming Safety Review Panel and will ensure all required analyses and test verifications have been performed. *********************** February 8, 2010 1. Astronaut T. J. Creamer Enjoys ARISS Contact with Riley Ave. Students On Tuesday, February 2, astronaut Timothy Creamer, KC5WKI spoke with Riley Avenue Elementary School students through an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact. The Calverton, New York youth spent weeks preparing for the contact, studying space and the solar system during Science and creating rockets and robots in Art class. The Peconic Amateur Radio Club helped coordinate the contact and provided the equipment used. A Riley fourth grader and newly licensed ham acted as the control operator during the contact. 2. Principal has Good Memories of First ARISS Contact The first Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was held between Bill Shepherd on the ISS and students attending Burbank School in Burbank, Illinois on December 21, 2000. Recently Burbank’s principal made the comment, “I continue to feel that the contact and the follow-up visit were by far my best experiences as an educator,” which says much about the program and its effect on those who participate. The school continues to display a plaque commemorating the ARISS event in its lobby. 3. ISS Ham Debrief Held with Frank De Winne Expedition 20/21 astronaut Frank DeWinne, ON1DWN participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) debrief session on Thursday, February 4. The feedback provided will help ARISS update program operations. 4. ARISSat-1 Status Report Posted AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) posted an article on the status of ARISSat-1. To view “Building the First US ARISSAT-1 Flight Unit Begins,” see: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/index.php *********************** February 1, 2010 1. Upcoming School Contact Riley Avenue Elementary School in Calverton, New York has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Tuesday, February 2 at 17:43 UTC. The school is integrating the contact throughout subject areas including but not limited to art, science, math, and English Language Arts. 2. JAXA Astronaut Participates in ARISS Contact with Boy Scouts On Thursday, January 28, JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP conducted an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Boy Scouts visiting the Morioka Children’s Museum of Science in Morioka, Iwate, Japan. The children asked questions such as, “What is done to avoid collisions with space debris?” and “Why don’t artificial satellites fall on the earth?” Through this activity, the youth learned about the ISS, satellite orbits and amateur radio. 3. Moscow Aviation Institute Experiment Activated Cosmonaut Maxim Suraev activated the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI-75) experiment onboard the ISS on Wednesday - Friday, January 27 - 29. Slow Scan Television (SSTV) images of Earth and the ISS were downlinked to ground stations. Images received were archived to the ARISS SSTV Gallery. See: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/SSTV/ 4. ISS Ham Debrief Scheduled An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) debrief session has been scheduled with Expedition 20/21 astronaut Frank DeWinne, ON1DWN on Thursday, February 4. The feedback provided will help ARISS update program operations. *********************** January 25, 2010 1. Upcoming School Contact Morioka Children’s Museum of Science in Morioka, Iwate, Japan has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP on Thursday, January 28 at 06:53 UTC. The youth are currently learning about the ISS, satellite orbits and amateur radio. The contact is expected to be conducted in Japanese. 2. JAXA Astronaut Chats with Students via ARISS Contact On Friday, January 22, JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP conducted an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with children from Minato Junior High School in Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan. Students were able to ask 18 questions about space before the ISS went over the horizon. Through this activity, they learned about amateur radio as well as the purpose of and science performed on the ISS. 3. Astronauts Participate in Simulated ARISS Contacts On Thursday, January 21, astronauts Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC and Shannon Walker, KD5DXB took part in Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) simulated contacts with students at the Manhattan Challenger Learning Center in New York, New York and the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska in Kenai, Alaska, respectively. The training sessions were terrestrial-based amateur radio contacts using ARISS equivalent equipment. Wheelock and Walker are slated to fly with Expedition 24 in May 2010. 4. ARISS International Meeting Held The monthly Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) International teleconference was held on Tuesday, January 19. The agenda items discussed included a status on ARISSat-1 as well as plans for the Columbus module. Minutes have been posted. See: https://www.rac.ca/ariss/arisstel2010-01-19.htm *********************** January 18, 2010 1. Upcoming School Contacts An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for Minato Junior High School in Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan on Friday, January 22 at 09:24 UTC. Students are learning about the goals of the ISS as well as radio communications and are studying for their amateur radio licenses. Morioka Children’s Museum of Science in Morioka, Iwate, Japan has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP on Thursday, January 28 at 06:53 UTC. The youth are currently learning about the ISS, satellite orbits and amateur radio. The contact is expected to be conducted in Japanese. 2. Commander Jeffrey Williams and Taiwanese Youth Speak via ARISS Contact On Monday, January 11, Expedition 22 Commander Jeffrey Williams, KD5TVQ participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with students attending Humanity Primary and Junior High School (HPJHS), the first charter school in Taiwan. Joining in the contact were students from the Technology and Science Institute of Northern Taiwan’s Department of Computer and Communication Engineering. Six hundred guests attended the event, which was sponsored by the Chinese Taipei Amateur Radio League (CTARL), and listened as Williams answered 15 questions about life in space. Media coverage included six television stations and five newspapers. 3. Cosmonauts Participate in Two ARISS Contacts with Kursk University On Saturday, January 16, cosmonauts Maksim Suraev and Oleg Kotov both participated in two Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) sessions with students and faculty of the Kursk State Technical University. The sessions were held on successive ISS passes. 4. Astronaut Training Status JAXA astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, KE5DAW received Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) basic operations training as well as an ARISS program overview on January 13. Furukawa is training as an Expedition 28 crew member which is planned to launch in May 2011. Two Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) simulated contacts are planned with astronauts Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC and Shannon Walker, KD5DXB on Thursday, January 21. Wheelock and Walker will answer questions posed by students at the Manhattan Challenger Learning Center, New York, New York and the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska, Kenai, Alaska, respectively. Both astronauts are slated to fly with Expedition 24 in May 2010. 5. ARISS Audio in Podcast On the NASA Do-It-Yourself Podcast Web site is an item about using Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contacts to record unique audio for use in a student built podcast. The blog provides additional information via links to the Teaching From Space ARISS Web page as well as the DIY Podcast Homepage. See: http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/diyPodcastBlog 6. ARRL Articles on Record Number of ARISS Contacts The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) ran a Web story on the record number of Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contacts held during 2009. ARISS delegate Rosalie White noted in the article that by year’s end, there was an increased interest in ARISS among U.S. schools as indicated by educators’ queries and the increase in U.S. ARISS applications submitted. To view the article, go to: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/01/12/11285/?nc=1 The story also ran in the ARRL Letter. See: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/index.html?issue=2010-01-14#toc04 There are approximately 100,000 regular readers of the ARRL Web site and 77,000 read the ARRL Letter. *********************** January 11, 2010 1. ARISS Featured at Marconi Commemoration Event On Thursday, January 7, students attending the University of Rome “Tor Vergata” Marconi Commemoration Event in Rome, Italy participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with on-orbit astronaut Jeffrey Williams, KD5TVQ. The contact was facilitated by telebridge station W6SRJ in California. An audience of 200 watched as eleven questions were asked and answered. After the contact, Princess Elettra Marconi, daughter of Guglielmo Marconi and Mr. Dieter Isakeit of ESA ESRIN (European Space Research Institute) Corporate Communication Office & Communication and Knowledge Department, sent greetings to the ISS crew. Presentations were given by ARISS mentor Francesco De Paolis as well as Mr. Augusto Cramarossa, Italian Space Agency, Head of Strategy, National and International, Mr. Massimo Pucini, Deputy Mayor of Moteporzio Catone town and Mrs. Marina Ruggeri, Director Department of Electronics Engineering – University “Tor Vergata.” 2. ISS Ham Debrief Held An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) debrief session was held with Expedition 20/21 crew members Nicole Stott, KE5GJN and Robert Thirsk, VA3CSA on Tuesday, January 5. The feedback provided by the astronauts will help ARISS update program procedures. 3. ARISS News on Amateur Radio Newsline On January 8, Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1691 reported on two ARISS related items. The first news article under Ham Radio in Space was about the ARISS debrief that was held with astronauts Robert Thirsk and Nicole Stott. The second item covered the Marconi Commemoration Event held at the University of Rome on January 7. To view the stories “ARISS Debriefing Session Held” and “ARISS Helps Celebrate Marconi Event,” see: ftp://ftp.arnewsline.org/quincy/News/news.txt *********************** January 4, 2010 1. Upcoming School Contacts An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for the Marconi Commemoration Event to be held at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata” in Rome, Italy on Thursday, January 7 at 09:00 UTC. Students will speak to on-orbit astronaut Jeffrey Williams via telebridge station W6SRJ in California. ESRIN (European Space Research Institute) personnel will give presentations and provide leaflets to the students. Humanity Primary and Junior High School, Tou-cheng town, Taiwan has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Monday, January 11 at 06:53 UTC. The Chinese Taipei Amateur Radio League (CTARL) is sponsoring this event. Through this opportunity, students will learn about space and radio communications. 2. Cosmonaut Enjoys ARISS Contact Cosmonaut Maxim Suraev participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with students from Noginsk High School on December 10, 2009. Suraev, an alumnus of the school, wrote about his experience in his blog. See: http://rt.com/About_Us/Blogs/orbital-log/2009-12-28.html 3. ISS Ham Debrief Scheduled An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) debrief session has been scheduled with Expedition 20/21 crew members Nicole Stott, KE5GJN and Robert Thirsk, VA3CSA on Tuesday, January 5. The feedback provided by the astronauts will help ARISS update program procedures.