Archived ARISS status reports *********************** December 26, 2005 1. Michigan Contact Successful On Wednesday, December 21, eighteen students from Carman Park Elementary School in Flint, Michigan asked one question each of Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, via the telebridge station, WH6PN in Hawaii. An audience of approximately 300 people attended the event, with media coverage that included the Flint Journal. The contact audio was webcast, and was fed through EchoLink AMSAT (node 101 377) and EDU_Net (node 77 992) conference room servers and was broadcast into the IRLP Discovery Reflector 9010. Streaming audio was also available from the Discovery Reflector website, http://www.discoveryreflector.ca/ Forty-four connections were made to Echolink from stations in Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Thailand, U.K., and U.S.A., which included 15 simplex nodes and 7 repeater nodes. The Flint Journal article, “Kids' questions zip into outer space,” may be found at: http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-33/1135266661268160.xml&coll=5 Photos of the Carman Park event may be found at this website: http://www.expedition12.com/charlie/charlie.html 2. Upcoming School Contacts The 25th Asia-Pacific Scout Jamboree contact has been approved for Saturday, December 31 at 09:12 UTC. The jamboree is held once every four years with scouts, ages 12-18 and will be held this year from December 28 to January 3 in Sattahip, Chonburi Province in Thailand. The hosting committee expects a turnout of 25,000 participants from the around the world, but especially from the 23 member countries in Asia-Pacific. There will be a live broadcast of the contact through the internet at: http://jamboree.siamportals.com . The audio will be fed to the Echolink Bangkok (node number 106 440), AMSAT (node number 101 377), and the EDU_Net node (77 992) conference room servers. STS Escola de Aviacao Civil in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil has been scheduled for a contact with the ISS on Monday, January 2 at 15:54 UTC. 3. ARRL Article on Sanderson, Mt. Carmel Contacts The students at Sanderson High School in Sanderson, Texas, and those at Mt. Carmel High School in San Diego, California experienced ARISS contacts on December 8 and 15, respectively. ARRL covered the contacts in the article, “Astronauts Don't Spend Much Time in Space, ISS Commander Tells Students.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/12/21/100/?nc=1 4. Astronaut Training Status Brazilian astronaut Marcos Pontes is tentatively scheduled for a training session at JSC on Monday, January 9, at which time he will be introduced to ARISS operations and school contacts. Pontes is scheduled to fly on a taxi flight to the ISS in the spring of 2006. 5. ARRL Article on McArthur Contacts Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, continues to work stations around the world. On Saturday, December 17, Bill made a contact with Palmer Station in Antarctica, and now qualifies for the Worked All Continents award. ARRL ran an article entitled, “Weekends Best Time to Catch NA1SS on the Air.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/12/23/2/?nc=1 6. Russian Special Event Space Patrol, a Russian special event, was planned for December 25 - 26 to commemorate the first anniversary of the death of cosmonaut Gennady Strekalov, U6MIR. Cosmonauts at Energia, using the callsign R3K, and those at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC), using RK3DZB, operated HF radios on December 25, and cosmonauts are expected to operate at GCTC on December 26. Two contacts with the ISS were scheduled as part of the event – one on December 25 at 2056 UTC and another on December 26 at 1947 UTC. In addition, the Kenwood radio may be placed in cross band repeater mode from December 27 -31. 7. Japanese Magazine Runs SuitSat Article The Japanese CQ magazine is writing an article on SuitSat which references ARISS Chairman Frank Bauer’s paper, “THIS IS SUITSAT-1, AMATEUR RADIO STATION RS0RS!!” The ARISS team provided photographs to be included in the news write up, which will appear in the Japan CQ’s next issue. SuitSat is expected to be deployed on February 2, 2006. *********************** December 19, 2005 1. California Contact Successful On Thursday, December 15, five students from Mt. Carmel High School in San Diego, California spoke to Bill McArthur, KC5ACR. Bill answered seventeen of their questions as an audience of approximately 35 students, teachers, and others gathered for the event. The radio equipment used for this contact will remain as the school amateur radio station. The contact audio was webcast by MSNBC, and was available on the IRLP and Echolink nodes. Twenty-two Echolink connections were made from the following countries: France, Iraq, Japan, Korea, Russia, Sweden, Thailand, the U.K., and the U.S.A. Among the media covering the event were the North County Times, Union Tribune, and Corridor News. Links to two of the stories follow: “Mt. Carmel High students make contact with the beyond.” http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/12/16/news/inland/21_11_4412_15_05.txt “Students turn dial to astronaut's orbit.” http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/education/20051216-9999-1mi16space.html 2. Upcoming School Contacts Carman Park Elementary School, a crew pick, located in Flint, Michigan has been approved for an ARISS contact. It will take place on Wednesday, December 21 at 16:35 UTC via the telebridge station, WH6PN, in Hawaii. The Carman Park contact will be webcast. To join the event: URL: https://e-meetings.mci.com CONFERENCE NUMBER: 5169963 PASSCODE: SPACE STATIO The audio will also be available through EchoLink AMSAT (node 101 377) and EDU_Net (node 77 992) conference room servers and will be broadcast into the IRLP Discovery Reflector 9010, with streaming audio available from the Discovery Reflector website, http://www.discoveryreflector.ca/ The 25th Asia-Pacific Scout Jamboree has been approved for Saturday, December 31 at 0912 UTC. The jamboree is held once every four years with scouts, ages 12-18 and will be held this year from December 28 to January 3 in Sattahip, Chonburi Province in Thailand. The hosting committee expects a turnout of 25,000 participants from the around the world, but especially from the 23 member countries in Asia-Pacific. 3. Article on Canadian School Contact Ralph McCall School in Airdrie, Alberta, Canada experienced a successful contact with the ISS on Friday, December 2. An article has been posted to Alberta’s Wild Rose Chapter 151 website, which contains photos of the event. See: http://www.qsl.net/ve6afo/iss_contact2005.html 4. Story Covers Sanderson High School Contact Sanderson High School students spoke with Bill McArthur via amateur radio on December 8. A write up on the contact can be found on the Big Bend Amateur Radio Club website. It includes the audio and photos of the event. See: http://www.bigbendarc.com/photos-history/photos/iss/iss_index.html 5. McArthur Continues Voice Contacts Over the December 17 – 18 weekend, Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, made contacts with stations in the U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean, Thailand, Japan, Italy, and Portugal. He has already made over 200 general contacts. ARRL covered his activity on the ISS ham radio station in the article, “ISS 12 Commander Shooting for WAC, WAS and Maybe DXCC from Space.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/12/15/1/?nc=1 6. Russian Special Event Planned Russian delegate, Sergey Samburov, RV3DR, reports that a special event is being planned for December 25 to commemorate the first anniversary of the death of cosmonaut Gennady Strekalov, U6MIR. Amateur radio operators are invited to participate. It is expected that Korolev and Star City stations will operate shortwave and UHF. Two contacts with the ISS are planned for December 25 and December 26 at 20:00 UTC. On December 26 - 27 the ISS Ham radio will be placed in repeater mode, and cosmonauts at Energia and Star City may also participate in the activities. Two thousand anniversary QSL cards with Strekalov’s portrait have been printed for the event. 7. Educational Outreach/School Selection Committee Meeting Held The ARISS Educational Outreach/School Selection Committee meeting was held on Thursday, December 8. Items of discussion included current school contacts, and NEEIS evaluations. The next meeting is planned for February 9. The minutes have been posted to the ARISS website. See: http://www.rac.ca/ariss/arissschm.htm *********************** December 12, 2005 1. Texas Contact Successful On Thursday, December 8, Sanderson High School in Sanderson, Texas experienced a successful contact with Bill McArthur, KC5ACR. Bill was able to answer 18 questions posed to him by 10 students, as an audience of approximately 25 students, teachers, parents, and others looked on. Local dignitaries who attended the event included the county judge and the county sheriff. Among the media that covered the contact were The Terrell County News Leader, The Davis Mountain Times (Fort Davis, TX), The Big Bend Sentinel (Alpine, TX) and The Alpine Avalanche (Alpine, TX). It is expected that articles will appear in the next issue of these weekly newspapers. 2. Upcoming School Contacts Mt Carmel High School in San Diego, California has been approved for a contact on Thursday, December 15 at 15:42 UTC. The contact will be direct via KG6EQU. Carman Park Elementary School, a crew pick, located in Flint, Michigan, has been approved for an ARISS contact. It will take place on Wednesday, December 21 at 16:35 UTC via the telebridge station, WH6PN. The Carman Park contact will be webcast. To join the event: URL: https://e-meetings.mci.com CONFERENCE NUMBER: 5169963 PASSCODE: SPACE STATIO The audio will also be available through EchoLink AMSAT (node 101 377) and EDU_Net (node 77 992) conference room servers and will be broadcast into the IRLP Discovery Reflector 9010, with streaming audio available from the Discovery Reflector Web Site, http://www.discoveryreflector.ca/ 3. ESA Article on CERN Contact On November 22, students attending the Science on Stage Festival at CERN, in Geneva, Switzerland, experienced a successful contact with the ISS. ESA covered the event in a story posted to its website. “Students talk live with astronaut on ISS,” may be found at: http://www.esa.int/esaED/SEMTDCVLWFE_index_0.html 4. ARRL Article on Hawthorne Brook and Ralph McCall Contacts ARRL covered the Hawthorne Brook Middle School and Ralph McCall School contacts in an article, “New England, Canadian Youngsters Log Successful Space Contacts.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/12/07/1/?nc=1 5. McArthur Still Active on Voice Over this past week, Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, made contacts with stations in the U.S. on December 6. He also spoke with stations in Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. on December 11. 6. Astronaut Training Status Astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, took his amateur radio license exam on Wednesday, November 30, and passed. He has been issued the callsign KE5GTK. *********************** December 5, 2005 1. Massachusetts Contact Successful On November 29, seventeen students from Hawthorne Brook Middle School in Townsend, Massachusetts each asked a question of Bill McArthur, KC5ACR. One hundred students, teachers, parents, and administrators, including the district superintendent, attended. Among the seven media representatives who covered the event were those from four newspapers: Worcester Telegram, Townsend Times, Community Journal, and Groton Herald. An article in the Community Journal is available for viewing by subscribers only until the article is one week old, at which time the entire article may be viewed by non-subscribers as well. See: http://www.thecommunityjournal.com/news/2005/1202/Townsend/034.html One of the sixth graders present for the contact, (who did not ask a question), remarked afterwards, "I'll remember this for the rest of my life." 2. Canadian School Contact Successful Students from the Ralph McCall School in Airdrie, Alberta, Canada experienced a successful contact with the ISS on Friday, December 2. Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, answered 18 questions posed to him by eighteen students. The audience was comprised of 920 students from Ralph McCall, and 140 from the Chestermere School. Many dignitaries attended: Member of Parliament Myron Thompson, the Superintendent of Schools, one associate superintendent, a local School Board trustee, the mayor of the city of Airdrie, 4 City Councilors, Alberta education representative from the Emerging Technologies branch, and local high school principals. In addition, the principal from Sir James Lougheed Elementary School, the next Alberta school scheduled for an ARISS contact, also attended. The contact received extensive media coverage. CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) 24 hour news channel, Newsworld, CBC local television, CBC radio, CTV news local affiliate, City TV, Global TV, Calgary Sun, Calgary Herald, 3 local Airdrie and area newspapers, and a Reuters writer all covered the event. The CBC posted a story on its website, “Space station astronaut takes call from Alberta students.” See: http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2005/12/02/astronauts-school051202.html This contact was carried live on the IRLP 9010 Discovery Reflector, and through streaming audio (shoutcast) on its companion website. Echolink was also used, and twelve connections were made from the following countries: Thailand, the U.K., the U.S.A., and Germany. 3. Russian Contact Successful On Thursday, November 24, school children in Star City, Russia, had a successful contact with the ISS via amateur radio. Among the audience attending the event were students, representatives from the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) and other cosmonauts. 4. Upcoming School Contacts Sanderson High School in Sanderson, Texas has been scheduled for an ARISS contact. It will take place on Thursday, December 8 at 17:30 UTC. Mt Carmel High School in San Diego, California has been approved for a contact on Thursday, December 15 at 15:42 UTC. The contact will be direct via KG6EQU. 5. Central Park Contact Update On November 23, students from the Central Park Middle School in Schenectady, New York spoke with Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, on board the ISS. Fifty students, teachers, parents and others attended. Four television stations covered the event, broadcasting the contact to approximately 500,000. The Albany Times Union scheduled an interview with the school’s public relations officer. The school is currently working with the Schenectady Amateur Radio Association and its after-school program to begin a ham radio club for students. 6. ARRL Article on ESA CERN and New York Contacts ARRL wrote a web story on the ESA CERN and Central Park contacts entitled, “Spacewalks ‘Thrilling,’ Astronaut Tells Students during Ham Radio Chat.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/11/30/1/?nc=1 7. ARRL Article on PCSAT2 On November 29, ARRL ran an article on PCSAT. “PCSat, PCSat2 operational information announced,” may be found at: http://www.arrl.org/ 8. SuitSat Status The Russian EVA to deploy SuitSat has been delayed. The new tentative date for EVA/deployment is February 2, 2006. 9. McArthur Active on ISS Ham Radio System Astronaut Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, continues to thrill the amateur radio community as he makes general contacts via the ISS Ham radio system. He was active on November 30 over the U.S., and again on December 1 over South America. He made additional contacts with stations in the U.S. over the December 3 – 4 weekend. On December 1, ARRL posted a story on McArthur’s contacts over the Thanksgiving holiday. “ISS commander cheers for Army in contact with Naval Academy's W3ADO” may be found at: http://www.arrl.org/ In anticipation of the Army-Navy game, held on Saturday, December 3, Bill transmitted a message via the ISS Ham packet radio system’s beacon which read, “Go Army! Beat Navy!” 10. Astronaut Training Status Congratulations to astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, who on Wednesday, November 30, passed his amateur radio license exam. 11. Italian Astronaut Visits with School Children On November 9, students from the Istituto Comprensivo F. Negri in Casale Monferrato, Italy, had the opportunity to speak with Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, on board the ISS. On November 28, Italian astronaut Roberto Vittori, IZ6ERU attended a conference in Casale Monferrato and met with three students, ages 10-11, from the Negri Institute, adding to the excitement of their space contact. Vitorri participated in two of his own ARISS contacts in April 2005 with the Marconi and Malignani Institutes in Civitavecchia and Palmanova, respectively, and the winning school of the ESA competition in ESRIN, Frascati, Italy, during his Eneide Mission on the ISS. *********************** November 28, 2005 1. ESA CERN Contact Successful On Tuesday, November 22, eighteen students attending the ESA CERN Geneva Science Festival each asked a question of Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, via the telebridge station, NN1SS, in Greenbelt, Maryland. The event was attended by approximately 300 students and teachers, and at least one television station and a professional photographer. ESA will edit and post a video of the contact on its website in the near future. The audio was fed to the Echolink AMSAT and EDU_NET conference room servers. Twenty-three connections were made, including three repeater nodes, from the following countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Israel, Morocco, Slovenia, Switzerland, Thailand, the U.K. and the U.S.A. A write up on the contact, “Students at ‘Science on Stage’ Festival Talk with ISS” is available on the ARISS Europe website. A link to the audio is included. See: http://www.ariss-eu.org/2005_11_24.htm 2. Central Park Middle School (NES) Contact Successful On Wednesday, November 23, students from Central Park Middle School, (a NASA Explorer School), in Schenectady, New York, experienced a successful ARISS contact via the telebridge station, W6SRJ, in Santa Rosa, California. Astronaut Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, answered eighteen questions posed to him by thirteen Central Park students. Four television stations (6, 9, 13 and Fox 23) covered the event. Echolink was used for this contact, where thirty-one connections were made from these countries: Bangladesh, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Morocco, Oman, Romania, Russia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, the U.K., and the U.S.A. Central Park posted a short story covering the contact on its website: “Central Park NASA Explorer School Call International Space Station, Again” may be found at: http://www.schenectady.k12.ny.us/NASAExplorerSchool/spacestation112305.htm 3. Upcoming School Contacts Hawthorne Brook Middle School in Townsend, Massachusetts has been approved for an ARISS contact. It will take place on Tuesday, November 29 at 18:24 UTC. Ralph McCall School in Airdrie, Alberta, Canada has been scheduled for a contact on Friday, December 2 at 17:59 UTC. 4. ARRL Article on Hermann and Takatsuki Contacts ARRL covered the Hermann Middle School and Takatsuki Education Center contacts in the article, “Lost Items Usually Turn Up Eventually Aboard ISS, Astronaut Tells Students.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/11/23/2/?nc=1 5. ARRL Article on SuitSat The postponement of the EVA to deploy SuitSat was covered in the ARRL web story, “‘SuitSat’ Launch from International Space Station Delayed.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/11/23/102/?nc=1 6. Astronaut Makes General Contacts Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, continues to thrill the amateur radio community as he makes general contacts via the ISS ham radio system. On Saturday, November 19 he made contacts with stations in the U.S. and Canada, and on Wednesday, November 23, he talked to another station in the U.S. Several radio operators in the U.S. spoke to him again on November 25 and 26 and on November 27 he spoke to stations in the U.S and in Europe. 7. ARRL’s New Book Mentions ISS Ham Contacts ARRL has released, for sale, the first edition of a brand new book, "Basic Radio, Understanding the Key Building Blocks." The first page of one chapter features a large NASA photograph of astronaut Leroy Chiao, who earned ham radio call sign KE5BRW. The descriptor explains that Leroy set a record in space. His record was making 23 educational radio contacts with school students while leading Expedition 10 aboard the International Space Station. *********************** November 21, 2005 1. Hermann Middle School Contact Successful On Wednesday, November 16, Hermann Middle School, in Hermann, Missouri, contacted the ISS via ham radio. The school library was standing room only, as seven students asked questions of Bill McArthur, KC5ACR. The audio was distributed over the PA system to the rest of the school. MSNBC carried the event live through the school’s Hermann Bearcat Amateur Radio Club webcam. Two television stations, channel 5, St. Louis and channel 13, Jefferson City, covered the event and ran video clips in their news casts. The students, volunteers and teachers who participated will receive DVDs as a remembrance of the event. The Hermann Middle School radio contact coordinator reported, “This was a wonderful thing that happened to our rural school district. They are all smiles right now. ” 2. Takatsuki Education Center Contact Successful On Thursday, November 17, Takatsuki Education Center in Takatsuki, Osaka, Japan, experienced a successful contact with the ISS. Ten sixth graders from Hiyoshidai Elementary School posed twenty questions to Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, as an audience of approximately 400 students, parents and others gathered to watch the event. Two television stations, including NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), three newspapers, and other media covered the contact. The contact audio is available at: http://jk1zrw.dyndns.org/takatsuki.html.en For the video, see: http://www.city.takatsuki.osaka.jp/multimedia/media/ariss-hiyosidai.asf 3. Upcoming School Contacts The contact for the ESA CERN Geneva Science Festival has been approved for Tuesday, November 22, at 15:17 UTC via the telebridge station, NN1SS, in Greenbelt, Maryland. Central Park Middle School, (a NASA Explorer School), in Schenectady, New York, has been scheduled for an ARISS contact on Wednesday, November 23 at 17:11 UTC via the telebridge station, W6SRJ, in Santa Rosa, California. 4. ARRL Article on Negri and Furtherwick School Contacts ARRL ran an article covering the Instituto Comprensivo Francesco Negri and Furtherwick Park School contacts. “Students in Italy, England Entertained, Educated via Ham Radio” may be found at: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/11/16/1/?nc=1 5. Italian School Contact Video On Wednesday, November 9, students from Instituto Comprensivo Francesco Negri spoke with astronaut Bill McArthur via amateur radio. Radio operator Claudio Ariotti, IK1SLD, posted a video clip and photos of the event on the following website: http://scuola.spaceonline.tv/ 6. Furtherwick Park School Contact On Wednesday, November 9, Furtherwick Park School successfully contacted the ISS. The BBC covered the event in an article, “Pupils link up with International Space Station.” See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/essex/content/articles/2005/11/11/space_station_feature.shtml ARISS member, Howard Long has made available a video of the contact. See: http://www.howardlong.com/images/Furtherwick.wmv 7. Russian EVA to Deploy SuitSat Postponed SuitSat, a Russian spacesuit containing ham radio equipment and a CD of student artwork, was scheduled to be deployed during a Russian EVA on December 8. This EVA has been postponed and is not expected to take place until late January/early February 2006. This unique satellite continues to receive news coverage, as Frank Bauer’s SuitSat paper has been translated into French and posted on the AMSAT-France website. See: http://www.amsat-france.org/ariss 8. Astronaut Training Status On November 16, astronaut Mike Lopez-Alegria began training for his amateur radio license exam. 9. ARISS International Teleconference Held The monthly ARISS International Meeting was held on Tuesday, November 15. Items of discussion included the amateur radio training of the next astronaut participating in a Soyuz taxi flight, the MISSE5/PCSAT2, and the status of SuitSat. The next meeting will be held on December 20. 10. ARISS Exhibits Planned Rosalie White from the ARRL is networking with NASA’s Carla Rosenberg to plan potential ARISS exhibit space at the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and International Technology Education Association (ITEA) national teachers’ conferences. ARRL plans to share the costs of these exhibits. *********************** November 14, 2005 1. Italian School Contact Successful On Wednesday, November 9, the students at Istituto Comprensivo F. Negri in Casale Monferrato, Italy, experienced a successful contact with the ISS via the telebridge station WH6PN in Hawaii. Twenty students were able to ask a total of twenty questions of Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, before losing contact with the ISS. Approximately 1000 students, teachers, parents, representatives of the Board of Directors of the national amateur radio associations, representatives of the Ministry of Education, and other dignitaries attended the event. The contact audio was webcast, and was fed to the Echolink AMSAT and EDU_NET conference room servers. Twenty-nine connections were made from Thailand, the U.K., U.S.A., Spain, Russia, New Zealand, Mexico, Italy, India, and Australia. Media coverage was extensive. The national newspapers La Stampa, Il Giornale, Il Secolo XIX, the local newspapers Il Monferrato, La Vita Casalese, Il Piccolo, La Sesia and the radio channel Radio Deejay covered the event. A report of the school contact will be broadcast in a few days by the TV channels RAI3 Piemonte, TG Leonardo RAI and Canale Satellitare di Roma. Audio of the contact is available on the ARISS-Europe website. See: http://www.ariss-eu.org/2005_11_09.htm 2. Furtherwick Park School Contact Successful On Wednesday, November 9, Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, participated in a second successful ARISS contact with the students at Furtherwick Park School in Canvey Island, Essex, U.K. Sixteen students asked one question each of the astronaut. Students, teachers, and others gathered in the school hall, as the local media, including the BBC Essex Radio, covered the event. One of the questions posed by the students was submitted by the Tunisian Scouts organization. The scouts had received prior permission from Furtherwick Park to include their question in the line up. Tunis will host the World summit on the Information Society on November 16 – 18 and the audio of this school contact will be made available to the general public visiting the Tuni exhibition, which will be held in conjunction with the summit. A short write up with the contact audio is available on the ARISS Europe website. See: http://www.ariss-eu.org/2005_11_10.htm 3. Upcoming School Contacts Hermann Middle School in Hermann, Missouri has been scheduled for a contact on Wednesday, November 16 at 18:58 UTC. Takatsuki Education Center in Takatsuki, Osaka, Japan, has been approved for a direct contact with the ISS on Thursday, November 17, at 10:34 UTC. The contact for the ESA CERN Geneva Science Festival has been approved for Tuesday, November 22, at 15:17 UTC via the telebridge station, NN1SS, in Greenbelt, Maryland. Central Park Middle School, (a NASA Explorer School), in Schenectady, New York, has been scheduled for an ARISS contact on Wednesday, November 23 at 17:11 UTC via the telebridge station, W6SRJ, in Santa Rosa, California. 4. ARRL Covers Kawachi Contact Kawachi Citizen's Committee for Youth in Miyoshi, Hiroshima, Japan had a successful contact with the ISS on November 3. ARRL’s article, “Nearly Every Day is ‘Casual Friday’ Aboard ISS, Japan Youngsters Learn,” may be found at: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/11/09/1/?nc=1 5. SuitSat Receives Extensive News Coverage SuitSat, a Russian spacesuit containing ham radio equipment and a CD of student artwork, is scheduled to be deployed during a Russian EVA on December 8. It has been receiving an increasing amount of media attention, and has been mentioned on NASA TV. Go to: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html AMSAT posted a SuitSat article on their website. See: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/index.php A SuitSat paper, written by ARISS Chairman, Frank Bauer, may be found on the ARISS website. See: http://www.rac.ca/ariss/Suitsat%20Rev%20C.pdf AMRAD Portugal (AMSAT-CT) will open the Oeiras Aerospace Observatory so that children may attend to receive the first emissions from SuitSat. They have posted SuitSat information on their website. Go to: http://www.amrad.pt/index.php 6. Astronaut Training Status Astronaut Mike Lopez-Alegria is tentatively scheduled for amateur radio license training classes on November 16 and 17. The last 6 unlicensed astronaut candidates (Randy Bresnick, Chris Cassidy, James Dutton, Shane Kimbrough, Tom Marshburn, and Bobby Satcher) from the class of 2004 attended their first amateur radio license training session on November 10. 7. Expedition 11 Crew Debrief The U.S. debrief session with Expedition 11 crew member John Phillips, KE5DRY, is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, November 15 at 4:00 pm ET. (Note the change in date.) 8. Discovery Channel Produces ISS Documentary ARISS-Europe member Howard Long reports that an ISS documentary has been produced by the Discovery Channel which will include footage taken during the August 6, 2003 ARISS- Neston Primary School contact (Corsham,Wiltshire,U.K.) with astronaut Ed Lu. The program may run as early as December 28 in the U.K. and will likely be shown in the U.S. and Canada in January, 2006. 9. School Selection Committee Meeting Held The ARISS School Selection Committee meeting was held on October 13. The minutes have been posted to the ARISS website. See: http://www.rac.ca/ariss/arissschm.htm#20051013 10. NEEIS Records ARISS delegate Rosalie White has been updating the ARISS NEEIS records, and deleted duplicate records from the 2005 archived database. *********************** November 7, 2005 1. Kawachi School Contact Successful On November 3, students from the Kawachi Citizen's Committee for Youth in Miyoshi, Hiroshima, Japan experienced a successful contact with astronaut Bill McArthur, KC5ACR. Nineteen children each posed a question to Bill during the Q & A session, as an audience of approximately 110 students, parents and others gathered for the event. Media coverage included 5 television stations and 3 newspapers. The audio and video of the contact are available on the following website: http://jk1zrw.dyndns.org/kawachi.html.en 2. Upcoming School Contacts Istituto Comprensivo F. Negri in Casale Monferrato, Italy, has been scheduled for a contact on Wednesday, November 9 at 10:28 UTC via the telebridge station WH6PN in Hawaii. This contact will be webcast. To join the event:  URL: https://e-meetings.mci.com  CONFERENCE NUMBER:  6124991  PASSCODE: SPACE STATIO Furtherwick Park School in Canvey Island, Essex, United Kingdom, has been approved for an ARISS contact. It has been scheduled for Wednesday, November 9, 2005 at 17:45 UTC, and will be direct via GB2FPS. Hermann Middle School in Hermann, Missouri has been scheduled for a contact on Wednesday, November 16 at 18:58 UTC. 3. Astronaut Training Status Astronaut Nicole Stott took and passed her amateur radio exam on Friday, October 28, and was issued the callsign, KE5GJN. Stott is currently in the future ISS crew selection pool. The last 6 unlicensed astronaut candidates from the class of 2004 are tentatively scheduled for an amateur radio license training session on November 10. 4. Expedition 11 Crew Debrief The U.S. debrief session with Expedition 11 crew member John Phillips, KE5DRY, is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, November 15 at 4:00 pm ET. (Note the change in date.)  5. ARRL Article on ISS Anniversary On November 1, ARRL posted a web story covering the fifth anniversary of the ISS and amateur radio. “Ham radio has role in five years of continuous ISS human habitation,” may be found at: http://www.arrl.org/ 6. ARISS International Teleconference Held The monthly ARISS International teleconference was held on Tuesday, October 25. Among the agenda items discussed were the Columbus Module antennas and SuitSat status. The next international meeting will be held on November 15. 7. Astronaut Active on Voice Astronaut Bill McArthur has been engaging children in his school contacts, but he also has hams around the world smiling as he makes voice contacts with the general public. McArthur was active over Australia on Friday, October 28, and again over Europe on November 3, making contacts with stations in the U.K. and Italy. 8. ARISS Mini-TIM Planned The ARISS team may hold a Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM) in the Goddard Space Flight Center area in early January 2006. Agenda items are being compiled as team members begin to plan for the conference. 9. ARISS International Face-to-Face Meeting The minutes and presentations from the ARISS International Face-to-Face Meeting held in the U.K. in August 2005 have been posted to the AMSAT website. See: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/Meetings/2005_Surrey/2005_Surrey_ARISS-I_Minutes.pdf *********************** October 31, 2005 1. Tomioka Elementary School Contact Successful On October 24, Tomioka Elementary School of Urayasu in Urayasu City, Chiba, Japan had a successful contact with Bill McArthur, KC5ACR. Fourteen students asked one question each of the astronaut. Approximately 650 students, parents, teachers and other interested parties were present for the contact, as two television stations and ten newspapers covered the event. Audio and video of the contact are available on ARISS member Satoshi Yasuda’s website. See: http://jk1zrw.dyndns.org/tomioka.html.en 2. Upcoming School Contacts Kawachi Citizen's Committee for Youth in Miyoshi, Hiroshima, Japan has been approved for a direct contact on Thursday, November 3 at 07:44 UTC. The Istituto Comprensivo F. Negri in Casale Monferrato, Italy, has been scheduled for a contact on Wednesday, November 9 at 10:28 UTC via the telebridge station WH6PN in Hawaii. Furtherwick Park School in Canvey Island, Essex, United Kingdom, has been approved for an ARISS contact. It is scheduled for Wednesday, November 9, 2005 at 17:45 UTC, and will be direct via GB2FPS. 3. ARRL Article on Tomioka Contact ARRL covered the Tomioka Elementary School contact in the article, “New ISS Commander Delights Japanese Youngsters via Ham Radio.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/10/27/4/?nc=1 4. Astronaut Training Astronauts Nicole Stott and Garrett Reisman wrapped up their amateur radio license training sessions on Wednesday, October 26. 5. Expedition 11 Crew Debrief The U.S. debrief session with Expedition 11 crew member John Phillips, KE5DRY, is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, November 8 at 4:00 pm ET.   6. NASA Night Article Pine Ridge Middle School, located in Naples, Florida, held a “NASA Night” on September 27 to educate parents, teachers and students about NASA programs. The Southgate Amateur Radio Club set up an amateur radio station at the school so that children could speak with and ask questions of NASA employees. An article covering the event has been posted to the club’s website. See: http://www.southgatearc.org/news/october2005/nasa_night.htm 7. SuitSat Status Progress 19P was launched on September 8, carrying the SuitSat hardware. The Russian EVA to deploy SuitSat has been tentatively scheduled for December 8, 2005. *********************** October 24, 2005 1. Upcoming School Contacts Tomioka Elementary School of Urayasu in Urayasu City, Chiba, Japan has been approved for an ARISS contact, which has been scheduled for Monday, October 24 at 11:39 UTC. (Note change in date and time) Kawachi Citizen's Committee for Youth in Miyoshi, Hiroshima, Japan has been scheduled for a contact on Thursday, November 3 at 0744 UTC. 2. ARRL Article on JOTA 2005 Over the weekend of October 15-16, astronaut Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, participated in the 2005 Jamboree on the Air (JOTA). Since then, Bill has been active on voice, and has continued to thrill hams worldwide. ARRL covered the JOTA event in a web story entitled, “ISS Astronaut Gets in the JOTA Spirit.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/10/21/4/?nc=1 3. Astronaut Training Astronauts Nicole Stott and Garrett Reisman attended their first amateur radio license training session on October 18. They are scheduled for their second session on Wednesday, October 26. On October 17, Bob Behnken took and passed his amateur radio exam. He received his callsign, KE5GGX, and is currently in the selection pool for future ISS expedition crews. Congratulations Bob! 4. Expedition 11 Crew Debrief The U.S. debrief session with Expedition 11 crew member John Phillips, KE5DRY, is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, November 8 at 4:00 pm ET.   5.   WebTech.com Article on ARISS ARISS delegate Rosalie White sat for an interview with Web-Tech.com to discuss the ARISS program. The online story is available on their website. See:  http://www.personaltechpipeline.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=171204199   6. School Selection Committee Meeting Held Rosalie White held a School Selection Committee teleconference on October 13, 2005. Discussions included the NEEIS database, which will reopen in mid-October for teachers to finish entering their evaluations, and the possibility of Bill McArthur participating in two ARISS contacts per week, which could reduce the backlog of U.S. schools waiting for a contact. Meeting minutes will be posted on the ARISS website in the near future. The next committee meeting is scheduled for December 8. 7. Space.com Article on Olsen Space.com wrote an article covering Greg Olsen’s flight to the ISS. The story mentions his ARISS contacts with school children and the importance of sharing his flight with others to excite their imaginations. See: http://space.com/missionlaunches/051017_olsen_us.html 8. ARISS - Eindhoven Contact Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers, PI9ISS, flew to the ISS with Expedition 9 crew members in conjunction with the Dutch Expedition for Life science, Technology and Atmospheric research (DELTA) Mission. On April 25, 2004, Kuipers participated in an ARISS contact with students from three schools: Saltoschool Hanevoet (primary school), Sint Joriscollege (secondary school) and Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (university). The students who were selected for the contact gathered in the radio room of the Amateur Radio Club of the Technical University of Eindhoven (PI4TUE), the Netherlands. The contact was a success. A short article on the contact has recently been made available to the ARISS team, complete with photos and links to audio and video. See: http://home.vianetworks.nl/users/hamoen/pa3guo/ariss_contact.html *********************** October 17, 2005 1. Upcoming School Contact Tomioka Elementary School of Urayasu in Urayasu City, Chiba, Japan has been scheduled for an ARISS contact. It will take place on Friday, October 28 at 10:36 UTC. 2. Article on Fort Hamilton High School Contact On Thursday, October 6, students from Fort Hamilton High School in Brooklyn, New York enjoyed a contact with Greg Olsen, KC2ONX. The New York Daily News covered the event in a story, “Students get an astro-dinary call.” See: http://www.nydailynews.com/10-07-2005/news/local/story/353274p-301193c.html 3. JOTA 2005 Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, wowed scouts and other hams as he participated in the 2005 Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) held this past weekend, October 15 -16. Stations from New York and South Carolina reported contacts with the ISS. This annual event encourages both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to become involved in amateur radio. 4. ARRL Article on Olsen Contacts ARRL ran an article covering Greg Olsen’s three ARISS contacts entitled, “Civilian Space Traveler ‘Phones Home’ via Ham Radio.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/10/10/1/?nc=1 5. Astronaut Training Astronauts Nicole Stott and Garrett Reisman will attend an amateur radio license training session on October 18. 6. Expedition 11 Crew Debrief The ARISS U.S. debrief session with Expedition 11 crew member John Phillips, KE5DRY, is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, November 8 at 11:15 am ET. 7. ARRL Web Story on the Return of ISS Crew On October 11, the ARRL ran a story on the return of the ISS Increment 11 crew. “Expedition 11 crew, civilian space traveler back on Earth,” may be found at: http://www.arrl.org/ 8. AMSAT Meeting Coverage On October 11, a story, “AMSAT-NA announces Executive Team,” was posted to the ARRL website. See: http://www.arrl.org/ The 2005 AMSAT General Meeting was held on Friday, October 7, and members worldwide participated via Echolink. “AMSAT General Meeting Internet Success,” may be found on the AMSAT website. See: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/   9. ARISS Mini-TIM ARISS is considering the possibility of holding a Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM) at GSFC in the late November/early December time frame. The ARISS team is compiling agenda items for discussion in the event that the meeting is held. *********************** October 10, 2005 1. Princeton High School Contact Successful On Wednesday, October 5, Greg Olsen, KC2ONX, participated in his first ARISS contact as he spoke to students at Princeton High School in Princeton, New Jersey, via the telebridge station, NN1SS in Greenbelt, Maryland. Ten students were able to ask 16 questions of Olsen. Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ), a friend of Olsen’s, attended the event to support public education. Several television stations and newspapers covered the contact. The audio was streamed over the internet, courtesy of MCI, and was fed through the Echolink AMSAT and EDU_NET servers. Thirty-five connections were made, including 5 repeater nodes. Stations monitoring the contact were from 9 countries: USA, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Israel, India, Japan, Russia, and the UK. Packetonline announced the space talk in the article, “Orbiting Gregory Olsen to hold 12-minute conversation on Wednesday.” See: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15324419&BRD=1091&PAG=461&dept_id=346950&rfi=8 2. Fort Hamilton High School Contact Successful Students from Fort Hamilton High School in Brooklyn, New York enjoyed a contact with Greg Olsen, KC2ONX, via the telebridge station, VK5ZAI, in Australia. On Thursday, October 6, ten students asked 13 questions of the space traveler while the student body of 4500 children listened in. The event was webcast. The audio was fed through Echolink, and thirty stations (including 3 repeater nodes) from twelve countries tied in: USA, UK, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Thailand, Japan, Holland, Russia, Australia, India, and Romania. 3. Ridgefield Park High School Contact Successful On October 7, Greg Olsen, KC2ONX, spoke with students at Ridgefield Park High School (Olsen’s alma mater) in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey via the telebridge station ZS6BTD in South Africa. Four questions were answered, as 350 students witnessed the contact. Among the many dignitaries present were the mayor of Ridgefield Park, the school superintendent, and Olsen’s brother-in-law. The audio was available on the internet. It was also fed through Echolink, as twenty connections, of which 4 were repeater nodes, were made from stations in Germany, Thailand, UK, USA, Japan, Holland, Russia, and South Africa. The Bergen Record covered the event in an article entitled, “Space rider shares thrill of trip with alma mater.” See: http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2Nzg4MjA1 4. Upcoming School Contacts Over the past week, the ISS crews have been involved with handover activities. The first contact with Expedition 12 is expected to occur during the week of October 24, and beginning in November, Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, plans to participate in 2 ARISS contacts per week. 5. ARRL Article on Tregaron Contact On September 29, students from Tregaron High School in Tregaron, Ceredigion, Wales, U. K., experienced a successful ARISS contact with John Phillips, KE5DRY. ARRL covered the event in a web story, “Tears and Fears Among Topics of ARISS School Group Contact.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/10/04/3/?nc=1 6. Astronaut Training Astronauts Nicole Stott and Garrett Reisman have been scheduled for an amateur radio license training session at JSC on October 18. 7. AMSAT 2005 Meetings Held The 2005 AMSAT Board of Directors Meeting was held on Thursday and Friday, October 6 – 7 at the Wyndham Pittsburgh Airport Hotel. This conference was followed by both the AMSAT Annual Meeting, and the Eagle satellite team meeting. Slides from the AMSAT Annual Meeting may be found on the AMSAT website. See: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/articles/2005_General_Meeting/ 8. ARRL Article on Space Visitor ARISS provided pass times to Greg Olsen so that he could make contacts with the general public, as time allowed. ARRL ran an article, which included the pass times, entitled, “‘Space Tourist’ May Get on the Air from NA1SS for Casual Contact.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/10/03/2/?nc=1 9. ARRL Article on JOTA 2005 The 2005 Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) will be held on Saturday and Sunday, October 15 -16. The event encourages both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to become involved with amateur radio. In the past, ISS crew members have participated in JOTA, and the Expedition 12 crew will be invited to join in this year, but because the date is so close to the Expedition 11 - 12 handover, their participation is questionable due to time constraints. ARRL ran a story, “It's JOTA Time October 15-16!” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/09/27/5/?nc=1 10. Space Times Article on ISS Ham Radio Space Times, a publication of the American Astronautical Society, ran an article in its July/August 2005 issue which mentions the amateur radio system on board the ISS, and its use by crew members as a past time activity. 11. Ham Volunteers Operating at Stennis Amateur Radio operators stationed at the NASA Stennis facility serving as the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for Hancock County, MS were moved to a new facility, mid-week.  The original county EOC was destroyed by Katrina.  The Amateur Radio operators serve as communicators with the sheriff's office and the emergency medical responders.  12. ARRL Educator of the Year Award Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, chemistry teacher at Bloomington High School South, received the national ARRL Professional Educator of the Year Award at a ceremony on October 4.  Rapp competed against teachers from across the USA to win the award by sparking students’ interest in sciences through the use of Amateur Radio.  Rapp introduces Amateur Radio to all Chem-1 students early in the semester when they learn about electromagnetic radiation and waves.  Students get hands-on experience with his hand-held Amateur Radio, and demonstrate to themselves, firsthand, how radio frequency affects wavelength, radio propagation, and so on.  Rapp applied for a NASA Getaway Special in past years, and his students' experiment with crystals was accepted.  American students with a practical understanding of technology can better compete in our global world.  Rapp sponsors the Bloomington High School South Amateur Radio Club.  Students meet 2-3 hours weekly after school, to experience hands-on projects, including the use of triangulation methods to track down hidden transmitters that beacon a signal.   Students' parents are sometimes invited, and learning from their offspring, parents have become licensed for Amateur Radio, themselves!  As a five-year-old, Rapp had earned his Amateur Radio license from the FCC to become the youngest person in the world at that time to pass the exam. ***********************  October 3, 2005 1. Tregaron School Contact Successful On September 29, Tregaron High School (Ysgol Uwchradd Tregaron) in Tregaron, Ceredigion, Wales, U. K., experienced a successful ARISS contact. John Phillips, KE5DRY, answered 18 questions posed to him by the 14 students and after the contact was lost, he gave answers to the two remaining questions the students had prepared, allowing other radio stations to hear the answers. Approximately 400 students, teachers and dignitaries witnessed the contact. Media coverage included BBC Radio Cymru, BBCi, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Online, Radio Ceredigion, BBC Ceefax pages, BBC Wales Today, Aber Online, ITV1 Wales News, Times Educational Supplement, Western Mail, S4C – Welsh News, Carmarthen Journal, and Cambrian News. The event was also webcast to all of the 10 local feeder primary schools, and to schools in Cardiff, Bristol, and Iowa, USA. Other countries tying in included Canada, France, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Germany, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Belgium, Scotland, and Holland. Audio of the contact is available on the ARISS-Europe website. See: http://www.ariss-eu.org/2005_09_29.htm To view the BBC article online, see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4292620.stm 2. Olsen’s Three Upcoming School Contacts The Expedition 12 crew of Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, and Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev, and space visitor Greg Olsen, KC2ONX, launched into space on October 1, and docked with the ISS on October 3. While on board the Space Station, Olsen will participate in three ARISS contacts, and he has been given times for other passes, should he decide to make some general contacts, as well. Princeton High School, Princeton, New Jersey On Wednesday, October 5 at 16:59 UTC, Olsen will speak to students at Princeton High School in Princeton, New Jersey. This contact will be a telebridge via NN1SS in Greenbelt, Maryland, and will be webcast. To join the event:  URL: https://e-meetings.mci.com  CONFERENCE NUMBER:  3171162  PASSCODE: SPACE STATIO Fort Hamilton High School, Brooklyn, New York Students from Fort Hamilton High School in Brooklyn, New York will speak to the space traveler via the telebridge station, VK5ZAI, in Australia. The contact is scheduled for Thursday, October 6 at 15:07 UTC. This event will be webcast. To join the event:  URL: https://e-meetings.mci.com  CONFERENCE NUMBER:  3153427  PASSCODE: SPACE STATIO Ridgefield Park High School, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey Olsen will speak to the students at Ridgefield Park High School in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey via the telebridge station ZS6BTD in South Africa. The contact will take place on Friday, October 7 at 13:33 UTC. The audio will be available on the internet. To join the event:  URL: https://e-meetings.mci.com  CONFERENCE NUMBER:  3153252  PASSCODE: SPACE STATIO The audio of all three contacts will be fed through the Echolink AMSAT (101377) and EDU_NET (77992) servers and IRLP Reflector 9010. 3. AMSAT 2005 Meetings The 2005 AMSAT Board of Directors Meeting will be held this Thursday and Friday, October 6 – 7 at the Wyndham Pittsburgh Airport Hotel. This conference will be followed by both the AMSAT Annual Meeting, and the Eagle satellite team meeting which will be held on Friday afternoon through Sunday morning, October 7 – 9. 4. ARRL Article on Expedition 12 On September 28, ARRL ran a web story on the new ISS crew. “ISS Expedition 12 crew, space tourist to launch October 1” may be found at: http://www.arrl.org/ 5. ARRL Article on JOTA 2005 The 2005 Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) will be held over the weekend of October 15 -16. The event encourages both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to become involved with amateur radio. In the past, ISS crew members have participated in JOTA, and the Expedition 12 crew will be invited to join in this year, but because the date is so close to the Expedition 11 to 12 handover, their participation is questionable due to time constraints. ARRL ran a story, “It's JOTA Time October 15-16!” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/09/27/5/?nc=1 6. ARRL Web Story on NES Contact On September 16, students from Matthew J. Kuss Middle School in Fall River, Massachusetts spoke with astronaut John Phillips, KE5DRY via amateur radio. “Local Ham Club Members Assist in Space Contact at Massachusetts School” may be found on the ARRL website. See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/09/28/101/?nc=1 7. Space Adventures Announces Greg Olsen’s Flight Plans A press release on Greg Olsen’s flight and planned amateur radio contacts has been posted on the Space Adventures website. See: http://www.spaceadventures.com/media/releases/2005-09/283 8. Cosmonaut Greets IARU Conference Members On September 11-15, the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 1 held their tri-annual General Conference in Davos, Switzerland, where one hundred fifty delegates from 56 countries participated. On Sunday, September 11, during the opening ceremony, the delegates viewed a video of Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, who sent greetings from space to the participants, wishing them a successful meeting. A news bulletin covering the meeting and including a link to the video has been posted on the ARISS-Europe website. See: http://www.ariss-eu.org/2005_09_30.htm 9. Students Run PCSAT2 Experiment On Thursday, September 29, Naval Academy midshipmen ran an experiment with PCSAT2. The students watched for packets via the PCSAT2 145.825 uplink, which were digipeated on the 435.275 downlink, and answered those by voice on the 437.975 downlink. Although they had little time to prepare for the pass, the students did have some success, and gained some experience from their lesson.   10. ARISS Budget 2006 A proposal was submitted to the Space Operations Mission Directorate (SOMD) to request funds for the ARISS program for the fiscal year 2006. ARISS Chairman Frank Bauer gave a presentation supporting this request on Friday, September 30. 11. NASA Nights Event On September 27, NES teachers from Pine Ridge Middle School in Naples, Florida, held “NASA Nights,” an event to educate parents, teachers and students about NASA programs. Amateur Radio operators from the Amateur Radio Association of South West Florida volunteered to set up a radio demonstration station, and schedule radio contacts with Amateur Radio operators who work at NASA facilities.  The scheduled radio contacts allowed students to ask questions of "NASA experts."   After listening to contacts with hams in Chile, Great Britain and several states, students asked questions of hams at the NASA Ames Center in California.  The Ames hams then made contact with hams at Kennedy Space Center, and relayed students' questions to KSC experts about the ISS and shuttles. 12. ARISS International Meeting Held The monthly ARISS International teleconference was held on Tuesday, September 27. Agenda items discussed included the status of the Columbus Module antennas, SSTV, the SuitSat project, Greg Olsen’s contacts, and the use of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) for direct ARISS contacts. The next international meeting will be held on October 25. *********************** September 26, 2005 1. Upcoming School Contacts Tregaron High School (Ysgol Uwchradd Tregaron in Welsh) in Tregaron, Ceredigion, Wales, United Kingdom, has been scheduled for an ARISS contact. It will take place on Thursday, September 29 at 11:28 UTC. 2. Upcoming School Contacts with Space Tourist Space Tourist Greg Olsen will fly with the Expedition 12 crew slated to launch on October 1. He plans to make three ARISS contacts during his 8 day visit on board the ISS. The tentative dates and times for these contacts follow. On Wednesday, October 5 at 16:58 UTC, Olsen will speak to students at Princeton High School in Princeton, New Jersey. [Note change]-This contact will not be direct but will be a telebridge via NN1SS. Students from Fort Hamilton High School in Brooklyn, New York will speak to the space traveler via the telebridge station,VK5ZAI, in Australia. The contact is scheduled for Thursday, October 6 at 15:07 UTC. Olsen will speak to the students at Ridgefield Park High School in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey via the telebridge station, ZS6BTD, in South Africa. The contact will take place on Friday, October 7 at 13:32 UTC. 3. Texas School Contact to be Rescheduled Sanderson High School in Sanderson, Texas was scheduled for a contact on Thursday, September 22. The contact was unfortunately unsuccessful. It will be rescheduled during ISS Increment 12. 4. NES School Contact On Friday, September 16, students from the Matthew J. Kuss Middle School in Fall River, Massachusetts, experienced a successful contact with John Phillips, KE5DRY.  The Museum of Science, Boston, attended the event while producing a documentary of the school contact. The museum mentions the ARISS program in a short article, “Postcards from the Very Edge,” which can be found on their website. See: http://www.mos.org/cst/article/75/6.html 5. SuitSat Video A video covering the SuitSat project is available on the AMSAT website. See: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/information/videoNews.php 6. AMSAT 2005 Meetings The 2005 AMSAT Board of Directors Meeting will be held on Thursday and Friday, October 6 – 7 at the Wyndham Pittsburgh Airport Hotel. This conference will be followed by both the AMSAT Annual Meeting, and the Eagle satellite team meeting which will be held on Friday afternoon through Sunday morning, October 7 – 9. 7. Astronaut Training Status Mission Specialist Bob Behnken completed two sessions of amateur radio training at JSC. He is currently preparing to take his technician’s exam. *********************** September 19, 2005 1. NES School Contact Successful On Friday, September 16, children from the Matthew J. Kuss Middle School in Fall River, Massachusetts, experienced a successful contact with John Phillips, KE5DRY. The amateur radio station was set up in the school library where twelve students asked 22 questions of the astronaut. Two of the students came from Central Park Middle School, another NASA Explorer School (NES), and six of the students (all girls) were amateur radio operators. The audio and video were fed, via amateur radio television, to a nearby church where 100 students, parents, teachers, and local dignitaries gathered to watch. The event drew a great deal of media attention with television stations including NBC affiliate, WJAR (Channel 10), Fox affiliate WPRI (Channel 12), ABC affiliate WLNE (Channel 6), Comcast Local Channel 9, and Fall River Educational Television (FRED-TV).  Newspapers in attendance included the Fall River Spirit and the Fall River Herald News.  In addition, the Museum of Science, Boston, was producing a documentary of the school contact. The Fall River Herald News article, “Long-distance call,” may be viewed online. See: http://www.heraldnews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15228976&BRD=1710&PAG=461&dept_id=99784&rfi=8 2. Upcoming School Contacts Students from Sanderson High School in Sanderson, Texas will speak to John Phillips on Thursday, September 22 at 16:08 UTC. Tregaron High School in Tregaron, Ceredigion, Wales, United Kingdom, has been scheduled for an ARISS contact. It will take place on Thursday, September 29 at 11:28 UTC. 3. Upcoming School Contacts with Space Tourist Space Tourist, Greg Olsen, will fly with the Expedition 12 crew slated to launch on October 1. He plans to make three ARISS contacts during his 8 day visit on board the ISS. The tentative dates and times for these contacts follow. On Wednesday, October 5 at 16:58 UTC, Olsen will speak to students at Princeton High School in Princeton, New Jersey. The contact will be direct via N2RE. Students from Fort Hamilton High School in Brooklyn, New York will speak to the space traveler via the telebridge station,VK5ZAI, in Australia. The contact is scheduled for Thursday, October 6 at 15:07 UTC. Olsen will speak to the students at Ridgefield Park High School in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey via the telebridge station ZS6BTD in South Africa. The contact will take place on Friday, October 7 at 13:32 UTC. 4. ARRL Article on Japan Red Cross Contact On September 8, the Japan Red Cross Radio Volunteer Corps of Fukui-prefecture, Wakasa Branch, in Obama-City, Fukui-ken, Japan experienced a successful amateur radio contact with astronaut John Phillips, KE5DRY. The ARRL article, “Young Japanese Astronaut Hopefuls Discuss ET, Other Topics,” covers the event, and provides links to the audio and video. See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/09/16/6/?nc=1 5. Astronaut Training Status On Wednesday, September 7, astronaut Sandy Magnus took and passed her amateur radio exam. Her new callsign is KE5FYE. Congratulations, Sandy! Mission Specialist Bob Behnken attended an amateur radio training class at JSC on Monday, September 12. He is scheduled for another session on September 21 to prepare him for his technician’s exam. 6. ARRL Article on SSTV and SuitSat Hardware ARRL ran a web story covering the new ARISS hardware which was launched September 8, and is now on-orbit. The article, “‘SuitSat’, New ARISS SSTV Gear Arrives at International Space Station,” may be found at: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/09/16/2/?nc=1 7. AMSAT and ARISS Joint Meetings, 2006 The 2006 AMSAT-NA Space Symposium will be held in the San Francisco Bay area. ARISS plans to hold its international face to face meeting immediately following the AMSAT-NA conference. The 2006 Symposium planning committee has begun working on next year’s meeting and has asked for input. To voice an opinion on hotel and location preferences, go to: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/survey.php 8. Hams Commended on their Aid at Stennis A Stennis Space Center facility is serving as the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for Hancock County, MS; the original EOC was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Amateur Radio operator Randy Pierce, AG4UU, from Tallahassee, Florida, is stationed at Stennis, and reports that Amateur Radio operators are serving as communicators for all the services at the EOC, including the fire department and the emergency medical system.  Four radio operators are still needed each day.  The Amateur Radio operators’ technical capabilities have been employed, and the hams were complimented by the Hancock County Sheriff's Office and County Commissioners. *********************** September 12, 2005 1. Japan Red Cross Contact Successful The Japan Red Cross Radio Volunteer Corps of Fukui-prefecture, Wakasa Branch, in Obama-City, Fukui-ken, Japan had a successful ARISS contact with the ISS. The Radio Corps provides training on how to communicate via amateur radio during an emergency, and the students are also involved with the Wakasa branch of the Young Astronauts Club-Japan (YAC-J), which is lead by Japanese astronaut Mamoru Mouri. On September 8, astronaut John Phillips, KE5DRY, answered 15 questions posed to him by the thirteen students. Approximately 110 people gathered to observe the contact, including four newspapers, and four television stations. The audio, video, photos, and three newspaper articles covering the event may be found on ARISS member, Satoshi Yasuda’s website. See: http://jk1zrw.dyndns.org/ -Select “Successful School in Region 3”, and then “The Japan Red Cross Corps” contact. 2. Upcoming School Contacts The Matthew J. Kuss Middle School in Fall River, Massachusetts, has been scheduled for a contact on Friday, September 16 at 1824 UTC. Kuss, a 2003 NASA Explorer School, established its own radio club a few years ago. It plans to webcast the contact on Fall River Educational Television (FRED-TV). See: http://www.fredtv.org/site/ Students from Sanderson High School in Sanderson, Texas will speak to John Phillips on Thursday, September 22 at 16:08 UTC. 3. ARRL Article on World Expo 2005 - ARISS Contact On Friday, September 2, twenty-one students, attending the World Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan, experienced an ARISS contact with John Phillips, KE5DRY. ARRL’s web story, “Japanese Schoolchildren Enjoy Successful ARISS Contact,” covers the event. See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/09/09/106/?nc=1 4. SuitSat and SSTV Launched Progress 19P was launched on September 8, carrying SuitSat hardware and the SSTV system. It docked with the ISS on September 10, and the hardware is now on-orbit. The Russian EVA to deploy SuitSat is expected to take place in early December. 5. Astronaut Visits Fairview Elementary On September 7, astronaut Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, visited Fairview Elementary School in Mount Prospect, Illinois.  The school had experienced a contact via amateur radio with Leroy in February of this year. The video of Chiao’s presentation given to the children was streamed on the web, and is available for viewing. See: http://fairview.dist57.org/spacewebsite/DrChiaoRAWstream9.7.05.mov 6. Astronaut Training Status On Wednesday, September 7, astronaut Sandy Magnus took and passed her amateur radio exam. She will be assigned call letters in the next few days. Nicole Stott’s amateur radio training session at JSC scheduled for this past week was cancelled. Her training session will be scheduled at another time in the near future 7. AMSAT Symposium 2005 Cancelled The 2005 AMSAT-NA Symposium was to be held in Lafayette, Louisiana on Oct 7-9, but due to the devastation Hurricane Katrina has caused in the Gulf area, the Space Symposium has been cancelled this year. The Board of Directors Meeting has been relocated. It will be held on Thursday and Friday, October 6 and 7 in Pittsburgh. The Eagle Team Meeting will follow, and will be held Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday morning. Information on the cancellation has been posted to the AMSAT website. “AMSAT Board Cancels the Symposium” may be found at: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/ ARRL also ran a story, “AMSAT-NA 2005 Symposium Falls Victim to Katrina.” See: http://www.arrl.org/?news_list_off=0 8. AMSAT and ARISS Joint Meetings, 2006 The AMSAT-NA Space Symposium 2006 will be held in the San Francisco Bay area. ARISS plans to hold its international face to face meeting immediately following the AMSAT-NA conference. Details for the joint meetings will be announced later this month. 9. ARRL Provides Aid at Stennis Space Center North Florida ARRL Section Manager, Rudy Hubbard, WA4PUP, set up an operations team of amateur radio operators at Stennis Space Center, which is currently functioning as an emergency operations center. The team will provide services to help with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. 10. PCSAT2 Mode Change PCSAT2, which operated in PSK-31 mode for the last few weeks, has been changed to UI/APRS Packet digipeater mode. See: http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/pec/pc2ops.html *********************** September 5, 2005 1. World Expo 2005 Contact Successful The Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) set up a radio station at the 2005 World Expo in Aichi, Japan. On Friday, September 2, twenty-one students, ranging in ages from 6 – 15, came from Aichi and the surrounding county to take part in this ARISS contact. John Phillips, KE5DRY, answered all twenty-one questions posed to him by the students, as approximately 150 people looked on. Eight newspapers and one television station provided media coverage of the event. Photos, video and audio of the contact may be found on the following website: http://jk1zrw.dyndns.org/expo2005.html.en 2. Upcoming School Contacts The Japan Red Cross Radio Volunteer Corps of Fukui-prefecture, Wakasa Branch, in Obama-City, Fukui-ken, Japan has been approved for an ARISS contact. It has been scheduled for Thursday, September 8 at 07:34 UTC. The Matthew J. Kuss Middle School in Fall River, Massachusetts, has been scheduled for a contact on Friday, September 16 at 1824 UTC. Kuss is a 2003 NASA Explorer School and has established its own radio club. 3. ARRL Article on Sapporo Contact The Sapporo Junior Amateur Radio Club in Sapporo, Kokkaido, Japan experienced a successful contact with the ISS on Monday, August 22. ARRL’s article, “Life Aboard ISS ‘Very Comfortable,’ Astronaut Tells Japanese Youngsters,” covers the event. The story includes links to both the audio and video of the Sapporo contact. See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/08/31/2/?nc=1 4. ARISS Videos Posted on AMSAT Website ARISS participated in the Dayton Hamvention 2005 held over the May 20 - 22 weekend. ARISS Chairman Frank Bauer and ARISS Deputy Program Manager Mark Steiner attended, giving a presentation entitled, "Human Spaceflight Update: ARISS, the Moon and Mars,” at the AMSAT Forum. Videos of the ARISS presentation and of the Hamvention activities are available on the AMSAT website. AMSAT and ARISS members also participated in Space Day at the Udvar Hazy Center on May 5, 2005. A video clip which includes coverage of the exhibition booth and an interview with Frank Bauer is also available for viewing. For all videos, see: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/information/videoNews.php 5. Progress 19P to Include SuitSat and SSTV The SuitSat hardware and the SSTV system will be launched on Progress 19P, which is scheduled to fly on September 8. The Russian EVA to deploy SuitSat is expected to take place in early December. 6. Astronaut to Visit ARISS School Fairview Elementary School in Mount Prospect, Illinois experienced an ARISS contact with astronaut Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, in February of this year. On September 7, at 14:40 UTC, Chiao will visit the school and speak to the students. Audio of his talk will be streamed on the web at: http://fairview.dist57.org/space.mov and http://fairview.skowronski.cc  It will also be fed through the Echolink AMSAT (101377) and EDU_NET (77992) servers and IRLP reflector 9010. 7. Cosmonaut Receives Birthday Wishes Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, made several general contacts last weekend. Stations from several countries spoke with the cosmonaut, wishing him a happy birthday. The contacts were made by operators in Kuwait, Malaysia, Columbia, Thailand, Argentina, U.S., Brazil, Australia, Puerto Rico, and Chile. Krikalev turned 47 on Saturday, August 27. To listen to a sample of the contacts, go to: http://pd0rkc.mine.nu/ 8. Astronaut Training Status Astronaut Sandy Magnus is preparing to take her amateur radio exam in the near future. Astronaut Nicole Stott is scheduled for a ham radio training session at JSC on Tuesday, September 6. *********************** August 29, 2005 1. Sapporo Contact Successful The Sapporo Junior Amateur Radio Club in Sapporo, Kokkaido, Japan experienced a successful contact with the ISS on Monday, August 22. Thirteen students asked 19 questions of John Phillips, KE5DRY, as high school student Jun Maeda, JL8AQH, manned the radio. Approximately fifty people attended the event, which was covered by three newspapers and two television stations. 2. Upcoming School Contact The 2005 World Expo in Aichi, Japan has been approved for an ARISS contact. It has been scheduled for Friday, September 2 at 09:45 UTC.  3. ARISS International Meeting The monthly ARISS International Teleconference was held on Tuesday, August 23. Among the items discussed were the SuitSat project, the SSTV status, PCSAT2, and the Exploration Initiative. The next ARISS International Meeting will be held on September 20. 4. ARRL Article on ARISS Delegate Rosalie White On August 22, ARRL ran a web story on ARRL Field and Educational Services Manager, Rosalie White. Rosalie has returned to her home state of Indiana to help with family issues, but she will continue to work with ARRL and ARISS. The story, “Rosalie White, K1STO, departs ARRL Headquarters, keeps connection,” may be found at: http://www.arrl.org/ 5. SuitSat and SSTV Shipped Sergey Samburov, RV3DR, reports that the SuitSat hardware and the SSTV system have been packed and shipped to Baikonur Cosmodrome to be included on the next Progress flight, and that the crew has been trained in SuitSat assembly and radio operations. Progress 19P is scheduled to launch on September 8. 6. Crew Debrief On Monday, August 22, the ARISS-U.S. team spoke with Andy Thomas, KD5CHF, about the general contacts he made using the ARISS radio system while on the ISS. Thomas had not been scheduled for any school contacts due the busy schedule of the STS-114 astronauts, but he did make time for a few general contacts over Australia and New Zealand, causing much excitement among the radio operators there. 7. ARISS Member Interviewed for Documentary ARISS-Europe member, Carlos Eavis, G0AKI, was interviewed for the BBC Radio 1 documentary, “Radio Anyone.” An article, “BBC Radio 1 documentary 'Radio Anyone' now on the web,” was posted to the web and provides a link to the audio. To listen to the interview, go to: http://www.southgatearc.org/news/aug2005/radio_anyone_audio.htm 8. ARRL Article on Arizona Contact Students at D.W. Higgins Institute in Tempe, Arizona spoke with astronaut John Phillips, KE5DRY, on Wednesday, August 17. ARRL ran a web story on the contact, entitled, “Space QSO Provides Arizona Youngsters Something to Remember.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/08/26/3/?nc=1 9. Cosmonaut Makes General Contacts Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, made several general contacts over the weekend. Stations in the U.S., Kuwait, Malaysia, and Australia reported speaking to the cosmonaut on Saturday, August 27, with some sending wishes for a happy birthday, as Krikalev turned 47. *********************** August 22, 2005 1. Arizona Contact a Success! On Wednesday, August 17, the children at D.W. Higgins Institute in Tempe, Arizona, experienced an ARISS contact with John Phillips, KE5DRY. The astronaut was able to answer 23 of the 24 questions posed to him by twelve students before the ISS went over the horizon. An audience of approximately 200 students, teachers, and others witnessed the contact. Special guests attending the event included the mayor of Tempe, Phillips’ parents and his sister, Maura Mackowski, whose son, Ben, is a sixth grader at the school. Mackowki was impressed with the Q & A session and wrote a thank you note to JSC, expressing her gratitude for a job well done, noting Steve Bible, N7HPR, in particular, for setting up and working his radio during the contact. Among the media present were two television channels (5 and 12) and two newspapers, The Arizona Republic and East Valley Tribune.  Arizona Republic’s article, “Tempe students radio space station, talk to astronaut,” may be found at: http://www.azcentral.com/families/education/articles/0817t-space-ON.html East Valley Tribune ran a story, “Students use radio to chat with astronaut in orbit.” See: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=46392 The Channel 12 news video clip of the event, “Students speak with astronauts aboard International Space Station,” is available for viewing. See: http://www.azcentral.com/12news/video/12video_index.html 2. Upcoming School Contacts The Sapporo Junior Amateur Radio Club in Sapporo, Kokkaido, Japan has been scheduled for a contact on Monday, August 22 at 14:26 UTC. The 2005 World Expo in Aichi, Japan has been approved for an ARISS contact. It has been scheduled for Friday, September 2 at 09:45 UTC.  3. ARISS International Meeting ARISS delegate Rosalie White has submitted minutes from the U.K. meeting to the other delegates for comments. Once finalized, they will be posted to the ARISS and AMSAT websites. The next ARISS International Teleconference will be held on Tuesday, August 23. 4. ARRL Article on Krikalev On August 12, the ARRL ran a web story on Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR. “ISS commander sets new space endurance record” is posted on the website. See: http://www.arrl.org/ 5. SSTV Safety Review Held On Friday, August 19, the JSC Payload Safety Review Panel (PSRP) met with members of ARISS-U.S. to discuss the certification of the SSTV/Vox box and two cables which the ARISS-U.S. team is providing to the project. Once the ARISS team submits supporting documentation, the certification document will be signed. The Russian team will provide the webcam and will provide the safety certification for the integrated system. The SSTV is expected to fly on 19P which is scheduled for a September launch. 6. Space Tourist Issued Callsign Greg Olsen took and passed his amateur radio exam on Friday, August 12, and was issued the callsign, KC2ONX. Olsen, slated to be the next space tourist, will fly with Expedition 12 crew members, Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, and Valery Tokarev in October. Sergey Samburov, RV3DR, will provide training on the ARISS radio system and operations so that he may participate in school contacts while on board the ISS. ARRL ran an article on Olsen, entitled, “Next ISS ‘Space Tourist’ Gets Amateur Radio Ticket.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/08/18/3/?nc=1 *********************** August 15, 2005 1. Upcoming School Contacts D. W. Higgins Institute in Tempe, Arizona, has been approved for an ARISS contact. It has been scheduled for Wednesday, August 17 at 15:44 UTC. The institute is a crew pick of Phillips. His nephew, Ben Mackowski, is a sixth grader at this school. 2. ARISS Student Pursues Astronaut Career Stephanie Radcliff was a student at Daviess County High School (DCHS) in Owensboro, Kentucky when the school experienced an ARISS contact on May 31, 2001. She had prepared three questions to ask astronaut Susan Helms, KC7NHZ, that day, including one concerning future space explorations. Four years later, on August 12, 2005, Stephanie returned to her alma mater to speak to the students there. She is now a graduate of Emory-Riddle University, and holds a degree in the aerospace field. She has taken the first steps toward becoming an astronaut and hopes to be accepted for astronaut training. Harold Wilson, the coordinating teacher of the DCHS - ARISS contact, remarked that it was the ARISS contact which inspired Stephanie to pursue this career choice. 3. PCSAT2/MISSE5 Status The PCSAT2 PSK-31 transponder was turned on. It uses an uplink on 29.402 +/- 1 KHz and downlink on 435.275 +/- Doppler using FM . For more information, see: http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/pec/pc2ops.html 4. ARISS International Meeting ARRL ran a story on the ARISS International face-to-face Meeting held at the University of Surrey. The article, entitled, “ARISS Delegates Urged to Cast Eye on Future of Ham Radio in Space,” may be found on their website. See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/08/12/106/?nc=1 ARISS delegate Rosalie White is currently working on the minutes of the U.K. meeting. They will be posted on the ARISS and AMSAT websites in the near future. The next ARISS International Teleconference will be held on Tuesday, August 23. 5. ARRL Article on Shuttle Landing On August 9, ARRL ran a web story on the shuttle landing. To view, “Shuttle Discovery returns safely,” see: http://www.arrl.org/ 6. Australian News Article on Astronaut’s Father The Australian newspaper, The Age, ran a story on Adrian Thomas. Thomas, father of astronaut Andy Thomas, was waiting apprehensively for word of Discovery’s landing. A ham friend of his had been listening to NASA’s channel, and called to let him know that the shuttle was heading for a safe landing in California. “Ham radio call ends father's anxious wait,” may be found at: http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/ham-radio-call-ends-fathers-anxious-wait/2005/08/10/1123353330011.html 7. Astronaut to Visit ARISS School Astronaut Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, plans to visit Fairview Elementary School in Mount Prospect, Illinois. Chiao visited the school in May, 2004, before his space flight, and. he exchanged e-mails and photos with the school, and participated in an ARISS contact with the children on February 10, 2005 during his Expedition 10 increment. The date for his visit has not yet been set, but September 7 is being considered. Fairview has posted on their website photos of Chiao’s first visit, and the audio and questions from the ARISS contact. See: http://fairview.dist57.org:16080/spacewebsite/fvspacecontact.html 8. Teaching from Space Teleconference Held A teleconference was held on Thursday, August 10 between ARISS-U.S. members and the Teaching from Space Office at JSC. Education Specialist Jonathan Neubauer will be the point of contact for ARISS and the Education Office. ARISS extends a welcome to Jon! *********************** August 8, 2005 1. Upcoming School Contacts Due to the STS-114 Return to Flight Mission, the next ARISS school contact will not be scheduled until the week of August 22, or possibly later. 2. ARRL Article on Shuttle On August 3, the ARRL ran a web story covering the ongoing activities aboard the space shuttle, including the deployment of MISSE5/PCSat2 during the third EVA. The story, “ARISS gear down for PCSat2 installation,” may be found on the website. See: http://www.arrl.org/ 3. PCSAT2/MISSE5 Installed PCSAT2 was deployed on STS-114’s third EVA on Wednesday, August 3 at approximately 1100 UTC and will undergo an on-orbit checkout during the next week. Updates on the project and photos taken during installation are posted on Bruninga’s website, “PCSAT2 - External ISS Experiment in the Amateur Satellite Service.” See: http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/pcsat2.html For PCSAT2 telemetry, see: http://www.pcsat2.info/PCSat2Web/index.do In the first day’s summary, Bruninga notes that PCSAT2 was mentioned on a popular news group called slashdot and "In terms of the numbers, there were about 40,000 extra visits and over a million extra hits in the last 18 hours..." ARRL also covered the event on August 3 in a story entitled, “PCSat2 installed on ISS during space walk.” See: http://www.arrl.org/ 4. ARISS International Meeting and Columbus Module The ARISS International Meeting was held August 1 -2. Among the items discussed were the Columbus Module and the L/S band antennas. The ARISS-Europe website has posted a bulletin covering this news. See: http://www.ariss-eu.org/2005_08_05.htm 5. Astronaut Receives Callsign Congratulations to ESA French astronaut Leopold Eyharts who took and passed his amateur radio exam! His new callsign is KE5FNO. Eyharts is a backup crew member for Expedition 12. 6. Astronaut Makes General Contacts Shuttle astronaut Andy Thomas, KD5CHF, made some general contacts on August 4 -5. Stations in New Zealand and Australia were among those he spoke with. *********************** August 1, 2005 1. Upcoming School Contacts The ARISS contact approved for the Boy Scout Jamboree in Bowling Green, Virginia on July 27 was cancelled due to the launch of STS-114 on Tuesday, July 26. ARISS contacts will resume as soon as the ISS schedule permits. 2. SuitSat Status The ARISS-Russia team requested that a few fabric ARISS logo patches be provided to place on the bags which will contain the SuitSat hardware during flight. The U.S. team ordered and received the patches and will deliver these to Sergey Samburov at the U.K. meeting. Integration and testing continue as the team works on the hardware flight certification. 3. PCSAT2/MISSE5 Delivered to ISS PCSAT2 flew on the Return to Flight STS-114 mission, which launched Tuesday, July 26. It is slated to be deployed during the third EVA on August 3 at 08:04 am EDT. An on-orbit checkout needs to be performed before it becomes available to users on the ground. This may take a week or two. The project is described in detail on Bruninga’s website, “PCSAT2 - External ISS Experiment in the Amateur Satellite Service.” See the site for updates and telemetry data. http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/pcsat2.html 4. ARISS International Meeting, Guildford, U.K. The AMSAT-UK Colloquium was held at the University of Surrey in Guildford, U.K. on Friday, July 29 through Sunday, July 31. The ARISS International Meeting continues today, through Tuesday, August 1 – 2. Information on both meetings may be found on the following website: http://www.uk.amsat.org/Colloquium/default.php 5. Yokohama Video Yokohama Elementary School in Kochi, Japan experienced an ARISS contact with John Phillips, KE5DRY, on July 4. The video of the event is now available for viewing. See: http://jk1zrw.dyndns.org/yokohama/kochi.wmv 6. ARRL Article on NES Class A NASA Explorer School (NES) Communication class was held July 18 – 22 at GSFC in Greenbelt, Maryland. ARRL ran an article covering the event. “Educators Query ISS Astronaut Via Ham Radio” may be found at: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/07/26/4/?nc=1 7. ARRL Article on Discovery’s Launch On July 26, ARRL ran a web story covering the shuttle launch, entitled, “Shuttle Discovery launches successfully.” See: http://www.arrl.org/ *********************** July 25, 2005 1. NES Teacher Workshop  A NASA Explorer School (NES) Satellite Communication Class was held at Goddard Space Flight Center July 18 - 22. The ARISS team introduced Amateur Radio and the ARISS program to thirty-five teachers.  A contact was scheduled with the ISS on Wednesday, July 20 at 17:31 UTC. Some of the educators positioned themselves at the NN1SS station located in Building 11 at GSFC, while others from the class were located outside Building 11, at a second station. The combined team participated by asking 15 questions of John Phillips, KE5DRY.  The radio stations were set up to enable both groups to hear all questions and answers. The teachers were very impressed and moved by the event. On July 22, the ARRL website posted the story, “Educators query ISS astronaut via ham radio.”  See: http://www.arrl.org/  2. Upcoming School Contacts  The 2005 National Boy Scout Jamboree, which will be held at Fort AP Hill, Bowling Green, Virginia, has been approved for an ARISS contact on Wednesday, July 27 at 14:16 UTC, if STS-114 does not launch on Tuesday, July 26. If the shuttle does launch on Tuesday, this contact will be cancelled. ARRL ran a web story, “Amateur Radio, Traffic-Handling Opportunities to Abound at Scout Jamboree.” See:http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/07/21/2/?nc=1  ARISS contacts will resume as soon as the ISS schedule permits.  3. SuitSat Status  The ARISS-Russia team successfully completed a vacuum test on the SuitSat hardware. Integration and testing continue as the team works on the hardware flight certification. 4. PCSAT2/MISSE5 to Fly on STS-114  PCSAT2 will be launched on the Return to Flight STS-114 mission, which may launch this Tuesday, July 26.  It is slated to be deployed on the third EVA as an external payload on the ISS.  This project is described in detail on Bruninga’s website, “PCSAT2 - External ISS Experiment in the Amateur Satellite Service.” See: http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/pcsat2.html  5. ARRL Article on Return to Flight Mission  On July 20, ARRL ran an article on the shuttle STS-114 Return to Flight mission. To view the story, “Shuttle Discovery launch at least a week away,” see: http://www.arrl.org/   6. ARISS International Meeting, Guildford, U.K  Preparations continue for the ARISS International Face-to-Face Meeting which will be held at the University of Surrey in Guildford, U.K. The AMSAT-UK Colloquium will be held Friday, July 29 through Sunday, July 31, and the ARISS meeting will continue on Monday and Tuesday, August 1 – 2.  Information on both meetings may be found on the following website: http://www.uk.amsat.org/Colloquium/default.php  7. ARISS International Teleconference Held  The monthly ARISS International Teleconference was held on Tuesday, July 19. Among the agenda items discussed were plans for the upcoming ARISS International Face to Face Meeting, PCSAT2, and the SuitSat Project.  8. ARRL Article on ISS Ham Repeater Mode  On July 20, the ISS Ham radio system was set up to run in repeater mode. To view the July 21 ARRL article, “Amateur Radio on the International Space Station in repeater mode,” see: http://www.arrl.org/   On Saturday, July 23, a station in Malaysia heard Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, sign off from a general contact. He then heard the ISS packet beacon, ending the crossband repeater mode.  9. Astronaut Training  ESA French astronaut Leopold Eyharts spent some time last month with Kenneth Ransom, training and preparing for his Technician’s license exam. He took and passed the exam this week, enabling him to participate in future ARISS contacts. Eyharts is scheduled as back up for the Expedition 12 crew.  10. Space Tourist Olsen  Space Adventures posted an article on Greg Olsen’s space flight training. A photo gallery is included. See: http://www.spaceadventures.com/orbit  *********************** July 18 2005 1. Upcoming School Contacts   The shuttle STS-114 Return to Flight mission has been delayed. School contacts have been submitted for approval, and will resume as soon as the ISS schedule allows.   2. ARRL Article on Yokohama Contact Yokohama Elementary School in Kochi, Japan experienced a contact with John Phillips, KE5DRY, on July 4. ARRL covered the event in the web story, “An Explorer at Heart, Astronaut Tells Japanese Students.” See:http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/07/13/2/?nc=1 3. NES Teacher Workshop A NASA Explorer School (NES) Satellite Communication Class will be held at Goddard Space Flight Center this week. Two one hour sessions have been scheduled for the teachers with ARISS team members. An introduction to Amateur Radio and ARISS will be given during the first hour, and orbital elements, prediction programs, and how to track the ISS and shuttle will be addressed during the second session. There is the possibility of an ARISS contact being scheduled for the teachers during the week (depending on when the shuttle launches) which will give them an idea of how to incorporate the ARISS program in their own curricula. 4. SuitSat Status   The ARISS-Russia team continues to work on the SuitSat hardware integration and testing. The team is compiling documentation necessary for flight certification of the SuitSat hardware.  5. ARRL Article on Return to Flight Mission   ARRL ran an article on the STS-114 Return to Flight mission which includes the PCSAT2 status. The story, “Amateur Licensees among Shuttle Discovery Crew; PCSat2 Installation Set,” may be found at:http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/07/12/3/?nc=1   6. PCSAT2/MISSE5 to Fly on STS-114  PCSAT2 will fly on the Return to Flight STS-114 mission, which may launch this week.  It will be deployed via an EVA as an external payload on the ISS.  This project is described in detail on Bruninga’s website, “PCSAT2 - External ISS Experiment in the Amateur Satellite Service.” See: http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/pcsat2.html  7. ARISS International Meeting, Guildford, U.K.  Preparations continue for the ARISS International Face-to-Face Meeting which will be held at the University of Surrey in Guildford, U.K. The agenda for the August 1 – 2 conference has been released. Information on the AMSAT-UK Colloquium and the ARISS International Meeting may be found on the following website: http://www.uk.amsat.org/Colloquium/default.php   8. ARISS International Teleconference  The next ARISS International Teleconference will be held on Tuesday, July 19 at 11:30 UTC. *********************** July 3 2005 1. Mayborn Museum Contact Successful Children visiting the Mayborn Museum at Baylor University in Waco, Texas enjoyed a contact with John Phillips, KE5DRY, on Monday, June 27 via the telebridge station, WH6PN, in Hawaii. Eleven children asked twenty-one questions as a crowd of 200 gathered in the auditorium. Two television stations and a newspaper also attended.  The Waco Tribune-Herald wrote an article entitled, “Local children get chance to talk to astronaut in space.” See: http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/06/28/20050628wacspacelink.html “Students Enjoy Lively Chat with Astronaut” can be found on the Baylor University website. To view, go to: http://www.baylor.edu/pr/news.php?action=story&story=34716 The NBC affiliate, KCEN-TV, posted an article on their website with a link to the video coverage of this event. “Kids make long-distance call to space at museum” can be found at: http://www.museumnews.net/link.asp?ID=27483&Title=KIDS%20make%20long-distance%20call%20to%20space%20at%20museum The event was also webcast, and audio was fed through the Echolink AMSAT and EDU_NET servers. Connections to the AMSAT conference room were made from 8 countries: Japan, Australia, U.S.A., U.K., Bangladesh, Italy, Ukraine, and Canada. 2. ARISS-Russia Contact  A second ARISS contact was made over the weekend. On Saturday, July 2, children at the Museum K.I. Tziolkovsky in Kirov, Russia were able to speak to Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, via the telebridge station W5RRR in Houston. The event was webcast, and the audio was fed through Echolink and IRLP. 3. Upcoming School Contact Yokohama Elementary School in Kochi, Japan has been scheduled for a contact on July 4 at 09:20 UTC.  4. SuitSat Hardware Delivered to Energia The SuitSat and SSTV hardware arrived in Russia on Wednesday, June 29. The ARISS-Russia team will begin integrating and flight certifying the SuitSat hardware. All hardware is expected to fly on the Progress 19P, scheduled to launch in the August/September timeframe. 5. Expedition 10 Crew Debrief On June 28, the ARISS-U.S. team had the opportunity to speak with Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, about ARISS school contacts and operations during Expedition 10. Leroy’s overall impression of the program was positive. Kenneth Ransom presented to Leroy a plaque from the ARRL for his participation in and his support of the ARISS program, and for his record breaking twenty-three contacts - the most school contacts made by one astronaut during a single increment. Thank you Leroy! 6. Expedition 11 Crew Participates in Field Day John Phillips, KE5DRY, and Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, both participated in Field Day on June 25 – 26. John made 25 contacts, and although Sergei’s report has not yet been submitted, he did make at least four contacts from Brazil, Thailand, S. Africa and the U.S. 7. PCSAT2/MISSE5 to Fly on STS-114 As part of an educational outreach program, students at the United States Naval Academy, in collaboration with the DOD and ARISS, and under the direction of Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, designed and developed PCSAT2. This payload will be carried on a Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE5) on a Passive Experiment Container (PEC). The PEC (suitcase) will be opened and will carry DOD solar cells on the front side, facing the sun, and the back side will carry the amateur satellite communications system which will include Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS) Packet, FM voice repeater, and 10m PSK-31 transponder. The payload will be launched on the Return to Flight STS-114 mission, scheduled for July 13, 2005, and will be deployed via an EVA as an external payload on the ISS. This project is described in detail on Bruninga’s website, “PCSAT2 - External ISS Experiment in the Amateur Satellite Service.” See: http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/pcsat2.html *********************** June 27, 2005 8. Texan School Contact Successful Students attending the Hockaday School’s summer program in Dallas, Texas had the opportunity to speak to John Phillips, KE5DRY, on Monday, June 20. An audience of 300 students, teachers and parents gathered and watched as twelve children asked 22 questions of the astronaut. There was limited media coverage, but those attending were thrilled with the event! 9. Upcoming School Contacts The Mayborn Museum at Baylor University in Waco, Texas has been scheduled for a contact via the telebridge station, WH6PN, in Hawaii on Monday, June 27 at 16:05 UTC. This event will be webcast. To join the event, go to: https://e-meetings.mci.com CONFERENCE NUMBER: 8747030 PASSCODE: SPACE STATIO The audio will also be available via EchoLink (AMSAT node 101377 and EDU_NET node 77992) and IRLP Reflector 9010. Yokohama Elementary School in Kochi, Japan has been scheduled for a contact on Monday, July 4 at 09:20 UTC.  10. ARRL Article on Canadian, Swiss School Contacts Students from Zurich International School in Horgen, Switzerland and children attending Ecole de la Source, in Mascouche, Quebec, Canada, experienced ARISS contacts with John Phillips, KE5DRY, on June 10 and 17, respectively. ARRL ran a web story entitled, “International Students, Quebec Primary Schoolers Quiz Astronaut via Ham Radio.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/06/22/4/?nc=1 11. ARISS CDs Delivered  The SuitSat Educational Project CDs and the updated QRZ callsign database CD were transferred to Alexander Poleschuk. Mr. Poleschuk will deliver them to Energia this week.  12. Expedition 10 Crew Debrief Scheduled The ARISS-U.S. team has been scheduled for a crew debrief with Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW. The Expedition 10 debrief is planned for Tuesday, June 28 at 4:15 pm ET. The monthly ARISS International Teleconference was held on Tuesday, June 21. Items of discussion included preparation for the ARISS International Meeting to be held in the U.K. August 1 – 2, and the funding which was obtained for the ARISS S-Band and L-Band antennas on the Columbus Module. Also covered were the shipment of SSTV and SuitSat hardware, and the status of the SuitSat Educational Project. The next ARISS International Teleconference will be held on Tuesday, July 19.  *********************** June 20, 2005 1. Canadian School Contact Successful On Friday, June 17, fifteen students from Ecole De la Source, an elementary school in Mascouche, Quebec, Canada, spoke to John Phillips, KE5DRY, via ham radio. Fifteen questions were asked of the astronaut as an audience of approximately 400 students, parents, and dignitaries, assembled in the gymnasium, watched via a video link. Two national television stations and one newspaper covered the event. 2. Upcoming School Contacts Hockaday School in Dallas, Texas will experience an ARISS contact on Monday, June 20, at 14:49 UTC. The Mayborn Museum at Baylor University in Waco, Texas has been approved for a contact via the telebridge station WH6PN in Hawaii. It will take place on Monday, June 27 at 16:05 UTC. 3. Article on Australian School Contact On Thursday, June 2, students from Brigidine College in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia spoke to John Phillips, KE5DRY. An article was written and posted on the school’s website. See: http://www.bcr.randwick.syd.catholic.edu.au/home/space/ 4. SuitSat Educational Project Status Approximately 200 pieces of artwork have been submitted for the SuitSat DVDs. It has been noted that Space Camp Turkey, a participant of two ARISS contacts in the past, sent in their own artwork, taking advantage of yet another ARISS opportunity. 5. ARISS Software Sergey Samburov sent to Kenneth Ransom a CD containing Kenwood operations, SSTV instructions, and other software programs. The U.S. team will review the contents and provide updates for the software, as needed. Once finalized, the CD will be sent to the ISS on a future Progress flight. Mark Steiner contacted QRZ and received an update to the callsign database. The new database will be shipped to Houston along with the SuitSat Educational Project CDs, and will be included in the Progress 19P manifest. 6. News of SuitSat Spreads The ARRL has been fielding questions from reporters about SuitSat, and has prepared a story for their own Web site. On June 15, Space.com ran an article entitled, “Old Spacesuit, New Satellite.” See: http://www.space.com/astronotes/astronotes.html On June 16, WFMY News 2 also ran an article on SuitSat. See: http://www.wfmynews2.com/news/technology/tech_article.aspx?storyid=42975 ARRL’s own article, “Fall Launch Viewed for ‘SuitSat’ as ARISS-US Delivers Hardware,” can be found at: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/06/17/2/?nc=1 7. Astronaut Training Astronaut John Grunsfeld is tentatively scheduled to attend an ARISS operations overview session on Friday, July 8. Grunsfeld is the backup for Expedition 13. 8. ARRL Article on ISS Participation in Field Day John Phillips, KE5DRY, and Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, may participate in Field Day on June 25 – 26. The ARRL article, “ISS Astronauts Could Be on the Air for Field Day!” includes pass times when the Expedition 11 crew may be available for a contact. See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/06/15/2/?nc=1 9. ARRL Article on John Phillips Astronaut John Phillips spoke to members of Congress about what living on the ISS means in terms of future exploration plans. On June 15, the ARRL covered this story in the article, “Ham-Astronaut testifies before Congress from space.” See: http://www.arrl.org/ *********************** June 13, 2005 1. Swiss School Contact Successful On June 10, Zurich International School in Horgen, Switzerland, with an enrolment of 900, experienced an ARISS contact. The school’s amateur radio club, HB9ZIS, set up a satellite station with automatic antenna tracking, and an amateur television link so that the rest of the student body could watch the contact in their assembly hall. A group of 50 gathered around the radio as twenty students asked 20 questions. Their teachers, parents and representatives of the Board of Directors looked on. The newspaper Neue Züricher Zeitung and the national radio channel Schweizer Radio DRS covered the event. The National TV channel DRS was also present and broadcast the event in the program, "Schweiz Aktuell." To view the video, "Schüler funken ins Weltall,” see: http://www.sfdrs.ch/system/frames/news/schweiz-aktuell/index.php Approximately 100 students from a school in northern Italy, Comprensivo Negri, listened to the Zurich International School session in preparation of their own ARISS contact. Photos from their school may be found on their website. See: http://scuola.spaceonline.tv/index.php?ind=gallery&op=section_view&idev=7 2. Upcoming School Contacts Ecole De la Source in Mascouche, Quebec, Canada, has been scheduled for a direct contact on Friday, June 17 at 13:34 UTC. Hockaday School in Dallas, Texas will experience an ARISS contact on Monday, June 20, at 14:49 UTC. 3. Australian School Contact On Thursday, June 2, students from Brigidine College in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia spoke directly with the ISS via amateur radio. ARRL covered the event in an article entitled, “ISS ‘Spacefarers’ Growing Radishes, Australian Students Learn via Ham Radio.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/06/07/4/?nc=1 4. Hosokawa Video Hosokawa Junior High School, in Ikeda, Osaka, Japan experienced an ARISS contact on Monday, May 9. The video of this event is now available. See: http://jk1zrw.dyndns.org/hosokawa/hosokawa.wmv 5. SuitSat and SSTV Hardware Shipped The U.S. team finished the integration and preliminary testing of the SuitSat hardware. The final testing and certification will be performed by the Russian team. SuitSat and SSTV hardware was delivered to JSC on June 10. It is being shipped to Energia so that it may be included in the Progress 19P manifest which is scheduled to fly in August. 6. Astronaut Training ESA French astronaut Leopold Eyharts began training for his U.S. amateur radio license. He will take his exam next month. 7. Field Day John Phillips, KE5DRY, and Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, plan to participate in Field Day on June 25 – 26. The crew expects to work stations worldwide, but pass times do not look favorable for Europe. 8. ARRL Provides Students with Amateur Radio Material A teacher, whose school experienced an amateur radio contact with an astronaut in past years, gave a presentation to students with the help of ham radio volunteers, about space, technology and amateur radio. ARRL provided materials for the 107 students who took part. The event, tied in with “Take Your Kids to Work,” was sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE). 9. ARISS Interest Generated at ARRL National Convention Rosalie White continues to get requests for material about ARISS after giving her talk at the ARRL National Convention in May *********************** June 6, 2005 1. Australian School Contact Successful On Thursday, June 2, students from Brigidine College in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia spoke directly with the ISS via amateur radio. Eighteen girls were able to ask their questions of John Phillips, KE5DRY, as an audience of two hundred gathered in the auditorium. Two Sydney television stations and other media covered the event. Matt Ryan, the teacher responsible for organizing the contact, remarked, “Students were tracking the space craft, controlling the directional antenna, operating the radio transmitter and talking to an astronaut. Science doesn’t come into the classroom better than this.” 2. Upcoming School Contacts Zurich International School in Horgen, Switzerland has been approved for an ARISS contact. It will take place on Friday, June 10 at 09:10 UTC. Ecole De la Source, Mascouche, Quebec, Canada, has been scheduled for a contact on Friday, June 17 at 13:34 UTC. 3. California School Contact On May 24, Village Elementary School, in Coronado, California, experienced a successful contact with John Phillips, KE5DRY. The audio was successfully fed through Echolink and IRLP. Fourteen nodes connected to IRLP Reflector 9010 from Canada, U.S.A., England and Germany. In addition, two schools listened in. Thirty twelfth graders and their teachers from Sir John MacDonald High School in Halifax, Nova Scotia monitored the contact using a VHF scanner tuned to the VE1HNS repeater and IRLP Node 2050. A teacher at Dr. Losier Middle School in Miramichi, New Brunswick also arranged for ten students to listen in via a telephone connection. ARRL ran a web story on the contact. “San Diego Area Youngsters Enjoy Contact with NA1SS Aboard the International Space Station,” may be found at: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/06/03/104/?nc=1 4. SuitSat Status The U.S. team continues to work on assembling and testing the hardware which will be shipped to Russia on June 10. Audio has been collected for use on SuitSat. Greetings have been recorded in English, French, Spanish, German, Japanese and Russian. The SuitSat Educational Proposal has been translated into several languages, and distributed to many schools, worldwide. AMSAT has carried the proposal on its website. See: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/articles/SuitsatSchool/ The ARRL has also promoted the project in an article, entitled “ARISS Seeks School Involvement in ‘SuitSat’ Project.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/06/03/100/?nc=1 5. Astronaut Training Kenneth Ransom reports that ESA French astronaut Leopold Eyharts began training for his U.S. amateur radio license. Kenneth has also set up time to present an ARISS overview to John Grunsfeld, KC5ZTF, on June 22. Grunsfeld is a backup for Expedition 13. 6. Dayton Hamvention 2005 Presentations The presentations given at the AMSAT Forum during the Dayton Hamvention 2005 may be found on the AMSAT website. Inactive astronaut Tony England’s presentation entitled, “Amateur Radio/AMSAT: A Motivator for a Career in Science & Engineering,” is included. See: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/articles/05DaytonPresentations/index.php 7. Field Day John Phillips, KE5DRY, and Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, have been invited to participate in ARRL’s Field Day, to be held on June 25 – 26. Both Phillips and Krikalev expressed interest in this event and plan to participate on a limited basis. Kenneth Ransom has been working on a list of pass times when U.S. amateur radio operators will be able to contact the ISS crew during this event; however, there are few favorable passes and some will occur in the early morning hours. *********************** May 30, 2005 1. California School Contact Successful On Tuesday, May 24, Phillips’ second crew pick, Village Elementary School, in Coronado, California, experienced an ARISS contact via the telebridge station NN1SS in Greenbelt, Maryland. Sixteen students and their teacher asked 20 questions. Adam Phillips, nephew of John Phillips and a third grader at the school, participated in the session. The audio was successfully fed through Echolink and the IRLP Reflector 9010. It was also webcast. The local newspaper, Coronado Eagle & Journal, covered the event. 2. Upcoming School Contacts Brigidine College in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia is a secondary catholic school for girls, with an enrolment of over 900 students between the ages of 12 and 18. The school participates in the Schools in Space Project and has been selected for a direct ARISS contact on Thursday, June 2, at 09:30 UTC. Zurich International School in Horgen, Switzerland has been approved for an ARISS contact. It will take place on Friday, June 10 at 0910 UTC. 3. ARRL Article on New York School Contact Iroquois Middle School in Niskayuna, New York participated in an ARISS contact on May 16. ARRL covered the event in an article entitled, “It's Not Really "Zero Gravity" on Space Station, Astronaut Tells Youngsters.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/05/26/1/?nc=1 4. SuitSat Status The SuitSat Educational Proposal has generated interest from several schools. The U.S. team continues to work on hardware which is expected to be shipped to Russia on June 10. Audio has been collected for use on SuitSat. Greetings have been recorded in English, French, Spanish, German, Japanese and Russian. A NASA Explorer School, Eastern Middle School, supplied the voice message for the U.S. English contribution. 5. Astronaut Training ESA French astronaut Leopold Eyharts has been scheduled for U.S. amateur radio license training with Nick Lance and Kenneth Ransom. The training sessions will tentatively begin on May 31and continue over a two week period. 6. Student Teacher Training Nick Lance participated in the Pre-Service Teacher Institute at JSC where college students were taught how to incorporate math and science into their elementary and middle school curricula. He taught an amateur radio licensing course and twelve students passed the exam and received their Technician Class licenses. *********************** May 23, 2005 1. New York School Contact Successful On Monday, May 16, students from Iroquois Middle School in Niskayuna, New York spoke with John Phillips, KE5DRY, via the telebridge station, VK5ZAI, in Australia, with the teleconferencing link donated by MCI. Paul Manning, a seventh grader at the school, and nephew of Phillips, was among the twelve students who asked 18 questions of the astronaut. The contact was broadcast live by the in-school television station, WIRO. It was rebroadcast the following day for the rest of the student body. In all, approximately 700 students, teachers, and visitors observed the event. John Phillips’ brother and sister-in-law attended, as did the television stations FOX23 and Time Warner Channel 9. Both stations covered the event and ran stories on the local news. The Spotlight, a local newspaper, followed up on Tuesday and interviewed the students. The audio for this event was available on the internet and fed through Echolink and IRLP nodes. Echolink had seventy-eight connections, which included 22 simplex and 12 repeater nodes and 2 conference servers. Thailand, South Africa, Russia, Romania, and Italy were among the ten countries listening in. Twenty-one IRLP nodes were connected to the Discovery Reflector 9010. Countries that participated included the USA, Canada, Norway, Germany, England and Australia. One IRLP connection was made by Central Middle School, an inner city school located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, where twenty-four students and four teachers were amazed as they listened to the ARISS question and answer session. 2. Upcoming School Contacts Phillips’ second crew pick, Village Elementary School, in Coronado, California, has been approved for a contact. It has been scheduled for Tuesday, May 24 at 17:21 UTC via the telebridge station NN1SS in Maryland. (Note the change in date and time.) The audio will be fed through the Echolink AMSAT (101377) and EDU_NET (77992) servers and IRLP Reflector 9010. It will also be available on the internet. To join the event, go to: URL: https://e-meetings.mci.com/ CONFERENCE NUMBER: 7535482 PASSCODE: SPACE STATIO Brigidine College in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia has been scheduled for a contact on Thursday, June 2, at 09:30 UTC. 3. Japanese School Contact Hosokawa Junior High School, in Ikeda, Osaka, Japan experienced an ARISS contact on Monday, May 9. ARRL covered the event in an article entitled, “Japanese Junior High Students Take “Giant Step” via Ham Radio.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/05/17/3/?nc=1 4. ARISS International Teleconference Held The monthly ARISS International Meeting was held on Tuesday, May 17. Agenda items discussed included the ARISS face to face meeting in the U.K., to be held August 1 & 2, third party traffic issues, the SuitSat Educational Proposal, and the possibility of an ARISS contact with a school in Bejiing during the 2008 Olympics. 5. SuitSat Educational Proposal The SuitSat Educational Proposal was discussed and finalized during the ARISS international teleconference. On Wednesday, May 18, the proposal was released to the international delegates and to the NASA Education Office for distribution to schools worldwide. It has also been posted on the ARISS website at: http://www.rac.ca/ariss/suitsat.htm and to the AMSAT server at: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/Papers/School%20Spacewalk%20Suitsat%20Final.doc 6. Dayton Hamvention 2005 The Dayton Hamvention 2005 was held this past weekend, May 20 – 22. AMSAT and ARRL both had exhibition booths at the event, which draws crowds of 25,000 annually. ARISS delegate Rosalie White, K1STO, gave a talk on ARISS at the Dayton ARRL Expo, and accompanied inactive astronaut Tony England to the AMSAT dinner where he gave a talk on space and youth. ARISS Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, and ISS Ham Deputy Program Manager Mark Steiner, K3MS, attended and gave a presentation entitled, "Human Spaceflight Update: ARISS, the Moon and Mars.” See: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/Presentations/Dayton%202005.pdf 7. Columbus Module An Amateur Radio station will be located on the European Space Module, Columbus. ARISS patch antennas, covering UHF, L-band, and S-band, will be installed on the nadir of Columbus. ESA has agreed to cover the installation cost of 100,000 euros. ARISS will need to pay 40,000 euros by mid June for development and manufacturing costs, with another 40,000 euros due by year’s end. ARISS-Europe has extended a call for donations, and the progress can be followed on the ARISS-Europe website. See: www.ariss-eu.org/columbus.htm 8. Astronaut Training On May 16, Kenneth Ransom of JSC provided ARISS training to astronaut Dan Tani. He discussed school operations, packet capabilities, and cross band repeater mode, as well as Field Day. Tani is tentatively scheduled to fly in the spring of 2006 as a crew member of Expedition 13. 9. Field Day Kenneth Ransom has invited Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, and John Phillips, KE5DRY, to participate in Field Day. This ARRL event is held annually the fourth full weekend of June. This year it will be held on June 25 – 26, beginning at 1800 UTC Saturday and ending at 2100 UTC Sunday. 10. School Selection Committee Meeting Held The Educational Outreach/School Selection Committee Meeting was held on May 12, 2005. The minutes have been posted to the ARISS website. See: http://www.rac.ca/ariss/arissschm.htm ********************** May 16, 2005 1. Japanese School Contact Successful Hosokawa Junior High School, in Ikeda, Osaka, Japan experienced an ARISS contact on Monday, May 9, 2005. Twelve students were able to ask 22 questions of John Phillips, KE5DRY, before the ISS went over the horizon. Approximately four hundred students, teachers, and parents were present. Among the media covering the event were two newspapers, and one local cable television station. A video of the contact will be available later this week. 2. Albany Hills School Contact On May 4, Albany Hills State School in Brisbane, Australia participated in a contact with astronaut John Phillips, KE5DRY. The ARISS team received a report from the school’s coordinating teacher, Cheryl Capra, who praised the program and those who volunteered their time and effort to make the contact such a success. Photos of John Phillips speaking to the Albany Hills students from space can be found on the NASA website. See: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-11/ndxpage15.html 3. Upcoming School Contacts John Phillips’ first school crew pick, Iroquois Middle School in Niskayuna, New York has been scheduled for an ARISS contact. It will take place on Monday, May 16 at 17:50 UTC via the telebridge station, VK5ZAI, in Australia. The audio for this event will be available on the Internet at the following URL: https://e-meetings.mci.com Conference number: 7032958 Password: SPACE STATIO Phillips’ second crew pick, Village Elementary School, in Coronado, California, has been approved for a contact. It has been scheduled for Thursday, May 26 at 16:39 UTC via the telebridge station NN1SS. Both of the above contacts will be fed through the Echolink AMSAT (101377) and EDU_NET (77992) servers and IRLP reflector 9010. 4. Space Day 2005 Update The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center celebrated Space Day on May 5. AMSAT participated in the event with an activities station set up for students and the general public, displaying and distributing ARISS material. The total number of visitors who attended Space Day was 11,693. There were 1,576 students who participated through school groups, and through a partnership with the Fairfax Public Schools Network, the center reached 32,971 schools and 7.5 million students. 5. Suitsat Status SuitSat’s voice greeting will celebrate the 175th anniversary of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University. Other voice messages to be included on SuitSat are being discussed and will need to be finalized in the near future. It has been suggested to use five two part messages. Five languages would be used, each delivering a standard greeting, and the second part of each message would vary, determined by the participating ARISS partners. Students would have the opportunity to interpret each message. The U.S. team has suggested a plan where schools worldwide might participate in SuitSat by submitting something on an 8.5x11 inch paper, which represents the school, to the ARISS team. All papers would be scanned, put on a DVD and deployed in the Orlan suit. The proposal has been written up and distributed to the international delegates for their comments. Once this plan has been finalized, it will be forwarded to the NASA Education Office for distribution. 6. Expedition 10 Crew Debrief Sergey Samburov had a debrief session with the Expedition 10 crew members. He received positive remarks about the ARISS program, with some suggestions for improvement. The U.S. team will tentatively meet with Leroy Chiao for his debrief the last week of June. 7. Dayton Hamvention 2005 The Dayton Hamvention 2005 will be held this coming weekend, May 20 – 22. Both AMSAT and ARRL will set up exhibition booths at the event. ARISS Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, will attend and give a presentation entitled, "Human Spaceflight Update (ARISS & Future Exploration Initiatives)." 8. School Selection Committee Meeting Held The ARISS Educational Outreach/School Selection Committee meeting was held on Thursday, May 12. The minutes will be posted to the ARISS website in the near future. 9. ARISS International Teleconference The next ARISS International Meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 17 at 11:30 UTC. ********************** May 9, 2005 1. Australian School Contact Successful On Wednesday, May 4, students from Albany Hills State School in Brisbane, Australia conversed with astronaut John Phillips, KE5DRY. This first Expedition 11 ARISS contact was supported by the telebridge station, NN1SS, in Greenbelt, Maryland. Fifteen questions were asked and answered. Among the approximately 180 people attending the event were several politicians, and the contact is expected to be noted at the next Queensland Parliament sitting. The audio was webcast, and was fed into the EchoLink AMSAT and EDU_NET conference servers. Twenty-six connections were made from the following countries: Thailand, Russia, Australia, UK, USA, and New Zealand. These included 6 simplex and 4 repeater nodes, and 1 conference room server. IRLP was also used with nodes joining from Australia, Japan, Canada, England, and USA. The ARRL ran a web story covering the event, entitled, “Expedition 11's Kick-Off School QSO Puts Aussie Youngsters ‘Over the Moon.’” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/05/05/2/?nc=1 2. Upcoming School Contacts Hosokawa Junior High School, in Ikeda, Osaka, Japan has been scheduled for a contact on Monday, May 9, 2005 at 08:00 UTC. John Phillips’ first school crew pick, Iroquois Middle School, Niskayuna School District, in Niskayuna, New York has been scheduled for an ARISS contact. It will take place on Monday, May 16 at 17:50 UTC via the telebridge station, VK5ZAI, in Australia. 3. ARISS Participates in Space Day 2005 The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center celebrated Space Day on May 5. Approximately 1700 sixth graders attended the event, while some activities were broadcast to 140,000 schools nationwide. Among the special guests attending Space Day were NASM Director General Jack Dailey, John Glenn, the STS-116 crew and NASA Deputy Administrator Fred Gregory. An AMSAT exhibition booth was set up at the event, displaying ARISS material. Representatives distributed ARISS lithographs, and were available to answer questions. 4. PCSAT2/MISSE5 to Fly on STS-114 As part of an educational outreach program, students at the United States Naval Academy, in collaboration with the DOD and ARISS, and under the direction of Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, designed and developed PCSAT2. This payload will be carried on a Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE5) on a Passive Experiment Container (PEC). The PEC (suitcase) will be opened and will carry DOD solar cells on the front side, facing the sun, and the back side will carry the amateur satellite communications system which will include Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS) Packet, FM voice repeater, and 10m PSK-31 transponder. The payload will be launched on the Return to Flight STS-114 mission, scheduled for July, 2005, and will be deployed via an EVA as an external payload on the ISS. This project is described in detail on Bruninga’s website, “PCSAT2 - External ISS Experiment in the Amateur Satellite Service.” See: http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/pcsat2.html 5. Suitsat Status Due to time constraints, plans for the Suitsat project have been modified. SuitSat will carry out its primary mission of sending a voice greeting celebrating the 175th anniversary of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, but the earth sensor and SSTV which had been proposed as secondary objectives, will not be included. All components need to be launched on the August Progress. The U.S. team has suggested using this opportunity for another educational project in which schools worldwide could participate by submitting an 8.5x11 in. paper with something (drawings, signatures, etc.) that represents the school. All papers would be scanned, compiled and put on a CD/DVD. The CD/DVD would be sent to Russia to be included in the August Progress manifest, and would be placed inside the Orlan suit prior to its deployment. 6. Expedition 10 Crew Debrief ARISS delegate Sergey Samburov, RV3DR, spoke with Roberto Vittori about his time on the ISS during the ENEIDE Mission. Vittori was pleased with his experience using the ISS Ham radio system in the service module and with his school contacts. Sergey also had a crew debrief with the Expedition 10 crew on Wednesday, May 4. The U.S. team is planning for its crew debrief with Leroy Chiao, tentatively scheduled for the last week of June. ********************** May 2, 2005 1. Upcoming School Contacts Albany Hills State School in Brisbane, Australia will experience the first ARISS contact with Expedition 11. The contact with astronaut John Phillips, KE5DRY, has been scheduled for Wednesday, May 4, at 0749 UTC via the telebridge station, NN1SS, located in Greenbelt, Maryland. The audio from this contact will be fed into the EchoLink AMSAT (node 101377) and EDU_NET (node 77992) conference servers. It will also be webcast. To join the event: URL: https://e-meetings.mci.com CONFERENCE NUMBER: 1587508 PASSCODE: SPACE STATIO Hosokawa Junior High School, in Ikeda, Osaka, Japan has been scheduled for a contact on Monday, May 9, 2005 at 08:00 UTC. 2. ARRL Article on Chiao’s Record Breaking Contact An audience of approximately 140 students, teachers and parents attended Switzerland’s first ARISS contact between the ISS and Schulhaus Feld 1 on April 19. Radio Zürichsee, and two newpapers, Zürichsee Zeitung and Tages Anzeiger, covered the event. This school was Leroy Chiao’s twenty-third contact, making him the new record holder of most contacts performed during one mission on the ISS. ARRL’s article, “Expedition 10 Commander Racks up School QSO Record,” can be found at: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/04/26/3/?nc=1 3. ARISS International Meeting Held The monthly ARISS International Teleconference was held on Tuesday, April 26. Agenda items discussed included the ARISS Face-to-Face Meeting which will be held in conjunction with the AMSAT-UK Colloquium at the University of Surrey in Guildford. The Colloquium will be held on July 29-31 followed by the ARISS meeting on August 1-2. For more information, see: http://www.uk.amsat.org/Colloquium/default.php The status of the SSTV was also covered. The outgassing tests have been completed, documents are being finalized, and an August Progress manifest is being considered. 4. ARRL Article on Expedition 10 Crew Return On April 25, ARRL ran a web story on the Expedition 10 crew’s landing. The article is entitled, “Space-travelers return to Earth.” See: http://www.arrl.org/ 5. Space Day 2005 The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center will celebrate Space Day on May 5. An AMSAT exhibition booth will be set up at the event which will include an ARISS display. Representatives will be available to inform the public of the ARISS program and to answer questions. 6. ARRL Article on Mike Fincke Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, spoke to the Senate Science and Space subcommittee about his mission on the ISS. “Ham-Astronaut Says Smaller ISS Crews Working Harder, Smarter,” can be found at: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/04/28/1/?nc=1 ********************** April 25, 2005 1. Italy Schools Contact Successful On Monday, April 18, two Italian schools, Istituto Tecnico Industriale Liceo scientifico Tecnologico “G. Marconi”, IK0WGF, in Civitavecchia and Ist.Tecn.Comm.Einaudi-Mattei & Ist.Statale Istr. Sup. Malignani In, IW3QKU, in Palmanova shared a contact with Roberto Vittori, IZ6ERU. The two schools, linked via Skype, took turns asking questions, of which eight were answered. Princess Elettra Marconi, daughter of Guglielmo Marconi, attended the event, and extended her greetings to Vittori. The event was webcast by RAI, the national Radio and Television Institute of Italy. The audio was also transmitted by EchoLink and had 11 connections from the UK, Slovakia, Germany, Italy and the USA. An article (in Italian) written about this event and the ESRIN contact may be found on the website of the Ministry of Communication (Lazio province). See: http://www.mincomisplazio.it/A%20VITTORI.htm 2. Successful Swiss School Contact On Tuesday, April 19, Switzerland experienced its first ARISS contact. Sixteen students from Schulhaus Feld 1 in Richterswil were able to ask twenty questions of Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW. This contact was the twenty-third for Leroy Chiao. He now holds the record for the most ARISS contacts performed during one mission while on board the ISS. Congratulations to Leroy! 3. ESRIN Contact Successful The winning classes (approximately 120 children) of the European Space Agency competition for primary schools in the Lazio region gathered at the European Space Research Institute (ESRIN) in Frascati, Italy, on Wednesday, April 20. Twelve students spoke with Roberto Vittori, IZ6ERU, via the telebridge station NN1SS. The audio was fed into the Echolink servers, and fifteen connections were made from the U.S.A, Russia, Italy, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand. An article, written in Italian and entitled, “La spazio parla con I bambini,” can be found on the ESA website. See: http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Eneide_Italian/SEMCOYW797E_0.html Video of the school contact can be found at: http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Eneide_Italian/SEMJGUW797E_0.html 4. Upcoming School Contact Albany Hills State School in Brisbane, Australia has been approved for an ARISS contact. It has been scheduled for Wednesday, May 4, at 0749 UTC via the telebridge station, NN1SS, located in Greenbelt, Maryland. The audio from this contact will be fed into the EchoLink AMSAT (node 101377) and the EDU_NET (node 77992) conference servers. 5. ARRL Article on New Hampshire Contact Maple Avenue Elementary School in Goffstown, New Hampshire experienced an ARISS contact on April 13. The ARRL wrote an article about the event. See “Second Time’s the Charm for New Hampshire School Space Contact,” at: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/04/20/3/?nc=1 6. ARRL Articles on ISS Crew Change ARRL’s April 18th web story covers the new crew members joining the Expedition 10 crew on the ISS. To view the article, “New all-ham crew now safely aboard ISS,” go to: http://www.arrl.org/ Another ARRL article, entitled, “ISS Expedition 10 Crew Passes the Baton to New Two-Ham Team,” covers the ISS handover from Expedition 10 to the Expedition 11 crew. See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/04/22/3/?nc=1 7. Tony England to Attend Hamvention On April 20, ARRL ran a web story on Tony England’s attendance at the Dayton Hamvention 2005. “Ham-radio-in-space pioneer Tony England, W0ORE, to be ARRL EXPO guest” can be found at: http://www.arrl.org/ ********************** April 18, 2005 1. New Hampshire School Contact Successful On Wednesday, April 13, Maple Avenue Elementary School, in Goffstown, New Hampshire, had a successful contact with Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW. Students asked twenty questions in front of an audience of two hundred students, teachers, parents, and six local dignitaries. Three newspapers and a television documentary producer were in attendance to cover the event. Echolink was also used for this contact. The audio transmission from a webcast was fed into the AMSAT and EDU_NET servers. Twenty-one connections were made, and stations from the U.K., U.S.A., Australia, Holland, Slovakia, and Switzerland listened in. 2. California School Contact Successful Fort Ross Elementary School is a small school with an enrollment of 50 students, located in Cazadero, California, a remote area ninety miles north of San Francisco. On Friday, April 15, the children experienced a successful contact with the ISS. The students were able to ask Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, 15 questions before the space station went over the horizon. Approximately 85 people attended the event including a reporter from the local weekly north coast newspaper, the Independent Coast Observer. 3. Upcoming School Contacts Schulhaus Feld 1 in Richterswil, Switzerland is slated for a contact with Leroy Chiao on Tuesday, April 19, at 07:36 UTC. (Note the change in date and time.) Two ARISS contacts have been scheduled with ESA Italian astronaut Roberto Vittori, as follows: Istituto Tecnico Industriale Liceo scientifico Tecnologico “G. Marconi” in Civitavecchia, Italy and Ist.Tecn.Comm.Einaudi-Mattei & Ist.Statale Istr. Sup. Malignani In in Palmanova, Italy will share a contact with the ISS, as they are linked via Skype (internet telephony). The students from each institute will take turns asking questions. The event is scheduled for April 18 at 08:45 UTC. The European Space Research Institute (ESRIN), is slated for a contact via telebridge station NN1SS on April 20 at 12:39 UTC. 4. ARRL Article on Flory Contact On April 8, Flory Academy, a NASA Explorer School, spoke to the ISS via amateur radio. ARRL covered the contact in an article entitled, “School Community Cooperation, Student Activities Enhance Space QSO Experience.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/04/13/2/?nc=1 5. ARRL Article on New Crew Aboard the ISS On April 15, the ARRL ran a web story on the new crew aboard the ISS. “Three radio amateurs on their way to International Space Station,” may be found at: http://www.arrl.org/ 6. ARISS School Receives Award Sonoran Sky Elementary School, KA7SKY, received a Satellite Communicators Club Award from AMSAT NA. The school had an ARISS contact with Expedition 8’s Mike Foale, KB5UAC, on April 5, 2004. Congratulations Sonoran Sky! ********************** April 11, 2005 1. NASA Explorer School Contact Successful On April 8, a NASA Explorer School, Flory Academy, in Moorpark, California, experienced a successful contact with the ISS via the telebridge station, NN1SS, in Greenbelt, Maryland. A phone line, donated by MCI, made the contact possible. Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, answered 15 questions posed by twelve students, as an audience of approximately 700 students, teachers, parents and others assembled in Flory’s auditorium. The Aerospace Education Specialist (AESP) Ota Lutz coordinated the radio contact, and Flory teacher Pat Bachamp reported that all grades K- 5 participated in many space activities prior to the event. Media coverage included television, radio stations and newspapers. The Ventura County Star ran a web story on the event. To view the article, you must first register with their site. “Students, astronaut converse through space,” can be found at: http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/mo/article/0,1375,VCS_167_3687880,00.html 2. Maple Avenue Elementary Rescheduled Maple Avenue Elementary School, in Goffstown, New Hampshire, which was scheduled for a contact on April 5, experienced some technical difficulties, and the students were unable to speak to the ISS. The contact has been rescheduled for Wednesday, April 13 at 15:46 UTC. 3. Upcoming School Contacts Schulhaus Feld 1 in Richterswil, Switzerland is slated for a contact with Leroy Chiao on Friday, April 15, at 08:57 UTC. Fort Ross Elementary School, in Cazadero, California has been scheduled for a contact on Friday, April 15 at 18:07 UTC. Two ARISS contacts have been scheduled with ESA Italian astronaut Roberto Vittori, as follows: Istituto Tecnico Industriale Liceo scientifico Tecnologico “G. Marconi” in Civitavecchia, Italy and Ist.Tecn.Comm.Einaudi-Mattei & Ist.Statale Istr. Sup. Malignani In in Palmanova, Italy will share a contact with the ISS, as they are linked via Skype (internet telephony). The students from each institute will take turns asking questions. The event is scheduled for April 18 at 08:45 UTC. The European Space Research Institute (ESRIN), is slated for a contact via telebridge station NN1SS on April 20 at 12:39 UTC. 4. ARRL Article on Science Discovery Center Contact An ARISS contact was scheduled for Pecan Creek Elementary School through the Science Discovery Center in Denton, Texas. Students spoke to astronaut Leroy Chiao, asking him 17 questions about life in space. ARRL ran an article covering the March 29 contact entitled, “Texas Youngsters Log 170th ARISS School Group QSO.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/04/06/1/?nc=1 5. ARISS Chairman to Present at Dayton Hamvention 2005 ARISS Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, will speak at the Dayton Hamvention 2005, which is being held in Dayton, Ohio on May 20 - 22. He will present, "Human Spaceflight Update (ARISS & Future Exploration Initiatives)," at the AMSAT Forum. To view the schedule of events, see: http://www.amsat.org/amsat- new/articles/Dayton2005/ 6. New Russian QSL Card The Russians have printed a limited number of new radio contact confirmation (QSL) cards which have pictures of each of the 10 Expedition crews on one side and a list of the callsigns on the other. Once Expedition 11 is safely on board the ISS, a new batch will be printed, which will include the photo of the new crew, as well. To view the card, see: http://qsl.ru/portfolio/rs0iss.htm 7. ARRL Representative Attends Teachers’ Convention Mark Spencer, of the ARRL, attended the National Science Teachers Association Convention in Dallas, Texas on March 31 – April 4. The ARRL covered his work in a web story, “ARRL Represents Amateur Radio at Science Teachers' Convention.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/04/08/1/?nc=1 ********************** April 4, 2005 1. Texas School Contact Successful On March 29, third, fourth and fifth graders from the Pecan Creek Elementary School gathered at the Science Discovery Center in Denton, Texas. Seventeen children were able to have their questions answered by astronaut Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW. Approximately three hundred fifty students, teachers and parents witnessed the contact, as two television stations and two newspapers covered the event. Echolink had 48 connections during this contact from at least 8 countries including the U.S., Canada, Russia, Italy, India, and Romania. The Heart O’ Texas Amateur Radio Club has posted the students’ questions with the audio answers on their website. Go to: http://www.hotarc.org/ 2. Upcoming School Contacts The students at Maple Avenue Elementary School in Goffstown, New Hampshire will have their chance to speak to Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, on Tuesday, April 5 at 18:26 UTC. A NASA Explorer School, Flory Academy, in Moorpark, California, has been approved for an ARISS contact. It has been scheduled for Friday, April 8 at 18:12 UTC via the telebridge station, NN1SS in Greenbelt, Maryland. Ota Lutz, KD5UQZ, one of the Aerospace Education Specialists (AESP) trained by JSC’s Nick Lance, is the radio coordinator for the contact. The audio will be streamed on the web. To listen, go to: https://e-meetings.mci.com CONFERENCE NUMBER: 5493180 PASSCODE: SPACE STATIO Fort Ross Elementary School, in Cazadero, California has been scheduled for a contact on Friday, April 15 at 18:07 UTC. Two ARISS contacts have been scheduled with ESA Italian astronaut Roberto Vittori, as follows: Istituto Tecnico Industriale Liceo scientifico Tecnologico "G. Marconi" in Civitavecchia, Italy and Ist.Tecn.Comm.Einaudi-Mattei & Ist.Statale Istr. Sup. Malignani In in Palmanova, Italy will share a contact with the ISS, as they are linked via Skype (internet telephony). The students from each institute will take turns asking questions. The event is scheduled for April 18 at 08:45 UTC. The European Space Research Institute (ESRIN), is slated for a contact via telebridge station NN1SS on April 20 at 12:39 UTC. 3. ARRL Article on Chiao Contacts On March 31, ARRL ran a web story on Leroy Chiao’s decision to accept the challenge of two ARISS contacts per week during his final days on the ISS. See “Upping the ARISS ante,” at: http://www.arrl.org/ or view the April 1 ARRL Letter article at: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/05/0401/ 4. ARISS International Meeting, 2005 The next ARISS International Face to Face Meeting will be held at the University of Surrey in Guildford, Surrey, U.K. on Monday and Tuesday, August 1- 2, 2005. It will follow the AMSAT-UK Colloquium (Friday, July 29 – Sunday, July 31.) Initial information concerning these meetings can be found on the AMSAT-UK website. See: http://www.uk.amsat.org/Colloquium/default.php 5. ARRL Representative Attends Convention ARRL representative, Mark Spencer, featured ARISS, Amateur Radio and Space, and technology in the classroom at the National Science Teachers Association National Convention. The convention was held in Dallas, Texas, March 31 – April 3. 6. Dayton Hamvention 2005 Events Rosalie White worked with AMSAT and ARRL in planning events for inactive astronaut Tony England to take part in at the ARRL National Convention in Dayton on May 19-22. Tony will meet Amateur Radio operators and visit the youth activities area. He will speak at the ARRL Donor Dinner about Amateur Radio and Space. He will also speak at the AMSAT Dinner – his topic will be on Amateur Radio satellite activities as a motivator for pre-college students' interest in science and math. 7. Brazilian Amateur Radio Group Interested in ARISS ARISS began correspondence with an Amateur Radio scientific group in Brazil whose members wish to be involved in the ARISS program. 8. ISS Packet Working The ISS packet mailbox (RS0ISS-11) is again operational, possibly due to the length of time the radio system was powered off during the recent EVA. Packet had been down for several weeks, for reasons unknown. See ARRL’s article, “ARISS Packet BBS Back Up,” at: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/04/01/4/?nc=1 **************** March 28, 2005 1. ARRL Article on St. Martins Contact On March 17, students from St. Martins Lutheran College in Mt Gambier, Australia, spoke with Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, via the telebridge station, WH6PN, in Hawaii. Echolink was successfully used for this contact. Twenty-nine connections were made on the AMSAT server. Another twenty-six connections were made on the edu-net server to which a Russian server was also connected. Stations from at least 15 countries, including Iraq, monitored the audio. ARRL covered the event in a web story entitled, “Australian Youngsters Quiz ISS Commander via Amateur Radio.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/03/22/103/?nc=1 2. Upcoming School Contacts The Science Discovery Center in Denton, Texas has been scheduled for an ARISS contact. It will take place on Tuesday, March 29 at 16:37 UTC. The students at Maple Avenue Elementary School in Goffstown, New Hampshire will have their chance to speak to Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, on Tuesday, April 5 at 18:26 UTC. A NASA Explorer School, Flory Academy, in Moorpark, California, has been approved for an ARISS contact. It has been scheduled for Friday, April 8 at 18:12 UTC via the telebridge station, NN1SS in Greenbelt, Maryland. Ota Lutz, KD5UQZ, one of the Aerospace Education Specialists (AESP) trained by JSC’s Nick Lance, is the radio coordinator for the contact. 3. ISS Ham Radios to be Cycled In preparation for the March 28 EVA, the ARISS radios were turned off on March 27. They will be turned on again prior to the school contact scheduled for March 29. 4. Outgassing Tests Performed The SSTV outgassing tests have been performed in White Sands, New Mexico. The approval process continues as the reports on the hardware test results are written. 5. SuitSat Meeting Held The U.S. SuitSat team met via teleconference on Thursday, March 24. The discussion covered the status of each satellite component. Also covered was Kenneth Ransom’s meeting with a Russian EVA specialist in Houston who relayed information on how to mount the earth sensor to the helmet and the switches to be used on the project. ******************* March 21, 2005 1. Successful Contact with Mt. Gambier, Australia School On March 17, students from St. Martins Lutheran College in Mt Gambier, Australia, experienced a successful contact with Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, via the telebridge station, WH6PN, in Hawaii. Ten students were able to ask twenty questions as an audience of two hundred parents, students and the South East Radio Group packed into the school’s music room. The audio was streamed over the internet, courtesy of MCI, and also over EchoLink, and IRLP. The event was covered by WIN TV, Bush Vision, a new community TV station, the ABC radio network, The Border Watch newspaper, and the Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA). The ABC South East SA story on the contact, “Students link up with the International Space Station,” can be found at: http://www.abc.net.au/southeastsa/stories/s1326932.htm. A write up by Tony Hutchison, VK5ZAI, ARISS mentor for the contact, can be found on the WIA website. See: http://www.wia.org.au/news/2005/20050318-01.php 2. Upcoming School Contact The Science Discovery Center in Denton, Texas has been approved for an ARISS contact. It has been scheduled for Tuesday, March 29 at 16:38 UTC. 3. ARRL Article on Rains High School Contact On March 8, students from Rains High School in Emory, Texas spoke with the ISS via amateur radio. Approximately 60 students, teachers and administrators attended the contact. A television station covered the event, and the teacher who coordinated the contact was interviewed by a local radio station. The ARRL ran an article on the event. To view “Students' Space Questions via Ham Radio Show Strong Science Slant,” see: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/03/15/3/?nc=1 4. ARISS International Meeting Held The monthly ARISS International Teleconference was held on Tuesday, March 15. Agenda items covered included an update on the ARISS U.S. school backlog and how to handle it, and the status of the Columbus Module. SuitSat was also discussed. The next ARISS International Teleconference will be held on April 19, 2005. 5. Energia News Energia ran articles covering the training of the Expedition 11 crew, Roberto Vittori’s taxi flight, and the SuitSat project. Some photos of the SuitSat mockup are included in the layout. See: http://www.energia.ru/english/energia/iss/iss11/photo_03-15.html and http://www.energia.ru/english/energia/iss/iss11/photo_03-16.html ****************** March 14, 2005 1. Texas School Contact Successful Rains High School in Emory, Texas is predominately made up of low income students, and participating in programs such as ARISS is rare for the school. On March 8, students were given an opportunity to speak with Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, via the telebridge station, WH6PN in Hawaii. Students were able to ask 15 questions. At least one television station covered the event. The audio was streamed over the internet, compliments of MCI. It was also heard over EchoLink, where over 230 stations monitored the contact, from areas including Japan, India, Europe, and North America. 2. Upcoming School Contact Students from St. Martins Lutheran School in Mt Gambier, Australia, will also have the chance to speak to astronaut Leroy Chiao. Their ARISS contact will take place on Thursday, March 17 at 10:24 UTC, via the telebridge station, WH6PN, in Hawaii. The audio of this contact will be streamed via the internet. To listen, go to: https://e-meetings.mci.com/ CONFERENCE NUMBER: 6503441 PASSCODE: SPACE STATIO The audio will also be available through EchoLink, (AMSAT node 101377 and EDU_NET node 77992), and via IRLP Reflector REF9307 (limited access, registration required). 3. ARRL Article on Bentley Contact The fourth graders at Bentley School began studying Space in September. They learned about the International Space Station and Expedition 10, in particular. Following the ISS current events in daily newspapers, they worked in small groups to determine the best questions to ask Leroy Chiao, and practiced for the contact, to determine the number of questions that might be answered. They again worked in small groups so that they could present information to the audience, in the event that all of their questions were not answered. The students wore “Expedition X” T-shirts for the event. Students and teachers both thought that Leroy answered their questions with much enthusiasm, and the children liked having the astronaut call them by their first names, making the contact a very personal event for each of them. The February 28 contact was covered in the ARRL article, entitled, “ISS Crew Commander Addresses Litter, Space Station ‘Tilt’ in Ham Contact.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/03/08/2/?nc=1 4. St John’s School Video St. John’s School in Houston, Texas had an ARISS contact with Leroy Chiao on February 23, 2005. The video of the event can be found on the school’s website. Go to: http://www.sjs.org/news/news/detail.asp?newsid=151565# and click on “Space Station Hook Up.” Select: iss contact_300k.swf. 5. Astronaut Training On March 9, Kenneth Ransom held an amateur radio training session for the backup crew members of Expedition 12. Clay Anderson (KD5PLA), Jeff Williams (KD5TVQ) and Leo Eyharts attended. Covered in the class were school operations, radio capabilities, and radio modes of operation. Astronauts Anderson and Williams are currently slated as the primary crew of Expedition 14. 6. ARISS School Selection Committee Meeting Held The ARISS Educational Outreach/School Selection Committee met via teleconference on Thursday, March 10. The minutes will be posted to the ARISS website in the near future. 7. ARISS International Meeting to be Held The next ARISS International Teleconference will be held on Tuesday, March 15 at 12:30 UTC. ****************** March 7, 2005 1. Bentley School Contact Successful On February 28, the fourth graders at Bentley School, an independent, K-12 school located in Oakland, California, experienced a successful contact with Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW. Dr. Sandy Chiao, Leroy’s sister, and a consultant at Bentley, suggested that Leroy talk to the children there. The students researched the Space Station and were carefully following the activities of Expedition 10. Last Monday, 15 students were able to ask questions of Chiao as an audience of approximately 300 students, parents, staff and reporters looked on. The event’s success was evident in the remarks made by the children after the contact: "It’s not everyday you get to talk to an astronaut on the International Space Station." "It was fun! We made history!" "I think we are really privileged to make a connection to the I.S.S." "I learned a lot, too!" 2. Upcoming School Contacts Rains High School in Emory, Texas has been approved for an ARISS contact. It has been scheduled for Tuesday, March 8 at 1410 UTC, via the telebridge station WH6PN in Honolulu, Hawaii. The audio of this contact will be streamed via the internet. To listen, go to: https://e-meetings.mci.com/ CONFERENCE NUMBER: 6150819 PASSCODE: SPACE STATIO The audio will also be available through EchoLink, (AMSAT node 101377 and EDU_NET node 77992), and via IRLP Reflector REF9307 (limited access, registration required). Students from St. Martins Lutheran School in Mt Gambier, Australia, will also have the chance to speak to astronaut Leroy Chiao. Their ARISS contact will take place on Thursday, March 17 at 10:24 UTC, via the telebridge station, WH6PN, in Hawaii. 3. ARRL Article on Houston Contact ARRL ran an article on the St. John’s School contact in Houston. To read the story, "Soyuz a Smoother Ride than Shuttle, Astronaut Tells Students," see: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/03/01/5/?nc=1 4. Ham Radio Operators Worldwide Using ISS Packet Kenneth Ransom of JSC researched packet usage on the Space Station. He found that since packet became available on the ISS, approximately 4000 unique callsigns have been logged. Two thousand of these callsigns have been logged since December, 2003, when the Kenwood D-700 became active. The amateur radio operators using packet are representative of nearly seventy countries. 5. SuitSat Teleconference Held The SuitSat U.S. Team held a teleconference on Thursday, March 3 to discuss progress on the different components to be included in the new SuitSat satellite. After a discussion with the Energia team this Tuesday, the U.S. team will meet again March 10. 6. Astronaut Training On March 9, Kenneth Ransom will hold an amateur radio license training session for the backup crew members of Expedition 12. Two of these members are currently slated as the Expedition 14 crew. ****************** February 25, 2005 1. Houston School Contact Successful On February 23, children from St. John's School in Houston, Texas spoke with the ISS. Ten students asked Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, 15 questions while another 400 students, teachers and parents gathered in the school's auditorium. The Clear Lake and JSC Amateur Radio Clubs assisted with the contact. The Houston Chronicle covered the event. Visit the St. John's School website for photos and audio of the contact. See: http://www.sjs.org/news/news/detail.asp?newsid=151565# 2. Upcoming School Contacts A crew pick, Bentley School in Oakland, California, will experience a contact with Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW. The event will take place on Monday, February 28 at 16:47 UTC. Rains High School in Emory, Texas has been approved for an ARISS contact. It has been scheduled for Tuesday, March 8 at 1410 UTC. 3. ARRL Article on Maine Contact ARRL ran an article on the February 14 Rockland District High School ARISS contact. The story, "Pine Tree State Logs First School Group QSO with Space Station," can be found at: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/02/24/5/?nc=1 4. CQ VHF Article on Tulsa Contact The quarterly magazine CQ VHF ran an article in its winter 2005 issue on the ARISS contact with the Tulsa Air and Space Museum which took place on December 22, 2004. To view the story, "Patience Pays Off - Tulsa Air and Space Museum - ARISS Contact," see: http://www.cq-vhf.com/Wint2005Patience.html 5. ARISS International Meeting Held The monthly ARISS International Teleconference was held on Tuesday, February 22, 2005. The technical interchange meeting, held for the SuitSat design and development, was discussed, as was the ISS Link - Voice over the Internet Protocol (VoIP)- project. Also covered was the U.S. backlog of schools waiting for an ARISS contact, and how the situation might be remedied. 6. Expedition 10 Crew Makes General Contact Noel Ferguson, VK3FGN, in Australia, had a short contact with cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov on February 24. It was thought that Sharipov was trying to contact Maggie Laquinto, VK3CFI, who is known for her numerous contacts over the years with many cosmonauts. 7. ARRL Representative to Present ARISS at Conference ARRL's Education Coordinator, Mark Spencer, is preparing for the ARISS booth at the upcoming National Science Teachers Association national conference. The event will be held in Dallas, Texas on March 31 to April 3, 2005. ***************** February 21, 2005 1. Maine Contact Successful On Monday, February 14, Rockland District High School in Rockland, Maine experienced a successful contact with Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW. Eleven students managed thirteen questions before losing contact with the ISS, as an audience of 400 students and visitors watched. Two television stations and one newspaper covered the event. 2. Upcoming School Contacts St. John's School in Houston, Texas, a crew pick of Leroy Chiao's, has been scheduled for an ARISS contact. Students from this college preparatory school will speak to the ISS on Wednesday, February 23 at 14:35 UTC. Another crew pick, Bentley School in Oakland, California, will also experience a contact with the ISS. The event will take place on Monday, February 28 at 16:47 UTC. 3. ARRL Article on Illinois Contact Fairview Elementary School experienced a contact with the ISS on February 10. The ARRL ran a story, with the contact audio, covering the event entitled, "Earth Rarely Out of Sight or Mind for ISS Crew." See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/02/15/3/?nc=1 4. SuitSat Meeting Held A technical interchange meeting was held in Houston, Monday through Thursday, February 14 - 17, to discuss SuitSat's design. Russian delegate Sergey Samburov was able to tie in to the meeting via one teleconference, and the SuitSat team met briefly with SuitSat Deputy Manager Alexander Poleschuk. The U.S. team visited the Russian Orlan spacesuit and a draft protocol was written. SSTV testing was also performed on both the Ericsson and Kenwood systems. 5. NASA Explorer Schools Applications Reviewed ARISS members Frank Bauer and Rosalie White reviewed applications from NASA Explorer Schools (NES). Frank, Rosalie and Erika Vick, of NASA Headquarters, selected one school, the Flory Academy of Sciences and Technology in California, for a telebridge opening on the ARISS school schedule the week of March 21. 6. ARISS International Meeting The next ARISS International Teleconference will be held on Tuesday, February 22, at 12:30 UTC (7:30 am ET). ***************** February 14, 2005 1. Illinois Contact Successful In May, 2004, astronaut Leroy Chiao paid a visit to Fairview Elementary School in Mount Prospect, Illinois. He has been exchanging email with the staff and students while on board the ISS, keeping them informed of his mission. On Thursday, February 10, the students of Fairview had the opportunity to speak with Chiao, KE5BRW, via amateur radio. Twelve students asked 23 questions, as 635 students, and 150 parents, teachers and others looked on. One newspaper, The Daily Herald, and one cable company, Mount Prospect TV, were also present. The contact was simulcast to the web and also via the Internet Radio Linking Project (IRLP) system using a radio link to the N9EP repeater. The Daily Herald’s article, “Live chat from space is 'historic event' for kids,” can be found at: http://www.dailyherald.com/search/main_story.asp?intID=3839439 Fairview Elementary School’s website has a section devoted to Leroy Chiao, his visit, mission and the ARISS contact. See: http://fairview.dist57.org/spacewebsite/fvspacecontact.html For photos of the February 10 ARISS contact, see: http://dist57.org/NASA/assembly.html 2. Upcoming School Contacts Rockland District High School in Rockland, Maine will be the next school to experience an ARISS contact. It will take place on Monday, February 14 at 15:06 UTC. Another crew pick, St. John's School in Houston, Texas will also speak to Leroy Chiao. This college preparatory school has been scheduled for a contact on Wednesday, February 23 at 14:35 UTC. 3. Air Training Corps Contact On February 2, cadets from the Air Training Corps 1132 Squadron of Stalham High School in Norfolk, England spoke with Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW. The Eastern Daily Press covered the contact, as did the BBC TV program, Look East. BBC TV interviewed Carlos Eavis, G0AKI, who coordinated the event. “Norfolk air cadets get call from outer space” may be found at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk/kids/astronomy/astronomy_for_kids_astronauts_feb05.shtml The ARRL also ran an article covering this event entitled, “UK Cadets Take to the Ham Radio Airwaves to Chat with ISS.” It includes a link to the contact audio. See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/02/11/6/?nc=1 4. ARRL Article on Expedition 11 Hams On February 10, the ARRL ran a web story on Expedition 11 crew members John Phillips, KE5DRY, and Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR. “Expedition 11 will put two hams aboard the ISS” can be found at: http://www.arrl.org/ 5. SuitSat Meeting to be Held A Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM) will be held on Monday, February 14 through Friday, February 18, in Houston, to design SuitSat, and to prepare the associated documents for this project. 6. ARISS International Meeting The next ARISS International Teleconference will be held on Tuesday, February 22, at 12:30 UTC (7:30 am ET). ***************** February 7, 2005 1. Air Training Corps Contact Successful On February 2, cadets from the Air Training Corps 1132 Squadron of Stalham High School in Norfolk, England spoke with Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW. Twenty questions were asked and answered as fifty students witnessed the contact. Two newspapers were in attendance, as was BBC television, which covered the event and broadcast it on the South England BBC TV program to an audience of millions. 2. Upcoming School Contacts Fairview Elementary School, in Mount Prospect, Illinois, has been scheduled for a contact with Leroy Chiao. This school is a crew pick of Leroy's, and the students will speak with him on Thursday, February 10, at 17:58 UTC. Rockland District High School in Rockland, ME has been scheduled for an ARISS contact on Monday, February 14 at 15:06 UTC. 3. ARRL Article on Pinion School Contact ARRL ran a story on the Pinion Elementary School contact. "New Mexico Youngsters Finally Get Chance to Talk to ISS," can be found at: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/02/02/6/?nc=1 4. ARRL Article on Packet Tests On February 2, ARRL ran a story about the Kenwood TM700 transceiver which was switched to the PC-Sat frequency for a few days to conduct some tests. To view the article, "ISS, PC-Sat set up for joint packet tests," see: http://www.arrl.org/ 5. Astronaut Receives Callsign Expedition 11 astronaut John Phillips passed his technician's exam on January 28. He has been issued the callsign KE5DRY. 6. SuitSat Meeting to be Held A Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM) will be held on Monday, February 14 through Friday, February 18, in Houston, to design SuitSat, and to prepare the associated documents for this project. ***************** January 31, 2005 1. New Mexico School Contact Successful Students at Pinon Elementary School in White Rock, New Mexico spoke with Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, on Thursday, January 27. Twelve students asked 14 questions, as an additional 60 students and their parents, teachers, and media personnel looked on. The event was covered by a local newspaper and the University of California Television filmed the contact. It will be used in the series "Behind the White Coat," which is produced at Los Alamos Labs, and distributed by UCTV over the air and internet at the UCTV website. The recording will be available on their website in 5 - 6 weeks. 2. Upcoming School Contacts The Air Training Corps 1132 Squadron of Stalham High School in Norfolk, England has been approved for a contact with the ISS. The cadets will speak with Leroy Chiao on Wednesday, February 2, at 12:54 UTC. Fairview Elementary School, in Mount Prospect, Illinois, has been scheduled for a contact with Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW. This school was chosen for a contact by Leroy, and will take place on February 10, at 17:58 UTC. 3. ARRL Article on French School Contact B. Robespierre School in Rueil Malmaison, France had a successful contact with Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW on January 18. ARRL covered the event in the article, "'Many Millions' of Kilometers Traveled to Date, Astronaut Tells French Pupils." See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/01/26/3/?nc=1 4. Tulsa Air and Space Museum Contact Video The Tulsa Air and Space Museum experienced a contact with the ISS crew in December, 2004. A video of the contact is available for viewing on the Tulsa Repeater Organization's website. See: http://www.tulsahamradio.org/2004ARISSKidsSpace_hamwx.htm 5. ARRL Article on Kenwood Radio System On January 25, the ARRL ran a story on the ARISS Phase 2 equipment. "ISS RS0ISS packet system remains problematic." See: http://www.arrl.org/ 6. Astronaut Passes Amateur Radio License Exam On January 28, astronaut John Phillips took and passed his Amateur Radio license exam. Phillips and Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, are the two Expedition 11 crew members slated to fly in April 2005. Both members are now qualified to participate in ARISS school contacts. 7. SuitSat Meeting Planned for February, 2005 Approval has been given for a Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM) to be held on Monday, February 14 through Friday, February 18 in Houston. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss and design SuitSat. A Letter of Invitation has been extended to ARISS-Russia delegate Sergey Samburov so that he may attend the conference. ***************** January 24, 2005 1. California School Contact Successful John Baldwin Elementary School in Danville, California, experienced a successful ARISS contact with Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, on Thursday, January 13. Seventeen students had prepared questions for the astronaut and Leroy answered 13 of them before the ISS went over the horizon. The school filmed and broadcast the contact over its TV system, reaching another 450 students. Media present included the local ABC affiliate, KGO (Channel 7) and a local Pleasanton station. Two newspapers followed up with articles: The Contra Costa Times (aka The San Ramon Valley Times) and the Tri-Valley Herald. KGO ran a segment covering the contact that night on the news. The Contra Costa Times ran a cover story about the event the following day. The Tri-Valley Herald’s story, “Danville's astronaut phones home to alma mater,” can be found at: http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/ci_2526823 The ARRL ran a web story, “ISS Commander Returns to his Elementary School via Amateur Radio.” See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/01/18/1/?nc=1 The ARRL Letter also carried a story covering the event. “Astronaut talks via ham radio with his primary school alma mater” can be found at: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/05/0121/ 2. Rueil Malmaison, France School Contact Successful B. Robespierre School in Rueil Malmaison, France had a successful contact with Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW on Tuesday, January 18. Fifteen questions asked by the students were answered. Over three hundred people attended the event where ARISS-Europe member Christophe Mercier spoke with the audience, presenting information on ARISS and amateur radio. Two Newspapers, Le Parisien and La Croix and Radio RMC (Monte Carlo) were present. The local cable TV station of Rueil Malmaison planned to present the event on their Friday program. 3. Upcoming School Contacts Students at Pinon Elementary School in White Rock, New Mexico will have their chance to speak to Leroy Chiao on Thursday, January 27 at 17:42 UTC. The Air Training Corps 1132 Squadron of Stalham High School in Norfolk, England has been approved for a contact with the ISS. The cadets will speak with Leroy Chiao on Wednesday, February 2, at 12:54 UTC. 4. ARISS International Teleconference Held The monthly ARISS International Teleconference was held on Tuesday, January 18. The main item of discussion was the SuitSat project. 5. ARISS School Selection Committee Meeting Minutes Posted The ARISS School Selection Committee teleconference was held on Thursday, January 13, 2005. Minutes have been posted to the ARISS website. See: http://www.rac.ca/ariss/arissschm.htm 6. Radios to be Cycled for EVA In preparing for the EVA (January 26, 07:25 UTC), the ARISS radio systems will be turned off on January 26, at 00:55 UTC. Upon completion of the spacewalk, they will be turned on again at 10:49 UTC on January 27. 7. SuitSat Meeting Planned A Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM) is being planned to discuss the design of SuitSat. The meeting is tentatively scheduled for Monday, February 14 through Friday, February 18 at JSC. 8. Packet Issue Under Investigation The packet BBS portion (RS0ISS-11) of the Kenwood radio system on board the ISS has not been operational for the last few weeks. Efforts to restore this capability were unsuccessful. This feature may be restored once a computer becomes available. An ISS Ham dedicated computer is expected to be delivered to the ISS in May. Once the computer is obtained, both packet systems can be analyzed and it is hoped that they will be restored to full functionality. ***************** January 17, 2005 1. California School Contact Successful As a child, Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, attended John Baldwin Elementary School in Danville, California, and so he selected this school for his next ARISS contact. On Thursday, January 13, 2005, Leroy delighted the elementary school students by speaking with them from space. He was able to answer 13 of their questions. The contact was via the telebridge station, VK5ZAI, in Kingston SE, South Australia. 2. Upcoming School Contacts An ARISS contact has been scheduled for B. Robespierre School, in Rueil Malmaison, France. It will take place on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 at 16:55 UTC. Students at Pinon Elementary School in White Rock, New Mexico will have their chance to speak to Leroy Chiao on Thursday, January 27 at 17:42 UTC. 3. ARRL Article on Japan School Contact The ARRL ran a web story on the Mori Elementary School contact, which includes links to both the audio and video of the contact. The article, "ISS Crew Off Diet, Astronaut Tells Japanese Youngsters," can be found at: 4. ESA Article on Ireland Contact ESA ran an article covering the ESA sponsored competition in Ireland where the winning schools met at University College Cork for their ARISS contact. The article, "Greetings from space," is posted on the ESA website. See: 5. ARISS International Teleconference Scheduled The next ARISS International Teleconference will be held on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 at 12:30 UTC. 6. Astronaut Training Kenneth Ransom held a training session with astronauts Thomas Reiter, DF4TR, and Bill McArthur, KC5ACR. He familiarized them with the hardware on board the ISS, talked about lessons learned, and had them practice placing the radio in cross band repeater mode. He also covered other equipment that is expected to be on board the ISS when they arrive, including the SSTV and the Yaesu radio system. Both astronauts are very interested in making contacts, and they should be a great asset to the ARISS program. Kenneth has also scheduled a training session with astronaut Sunita Williams. The meeting is slated for Tuesday, January 18. 7. Astronaut Receives Amateur Radio License JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide passed his amateur radio exam on Saturday, January 8, and received his new callsign, KE5DNI. Hoshide is the eighth of fourteen members in the 2004 astronaut candidate class to receive his license. The other seven received their callsigns in November, 2004. Congratulations Akihiko! 8. ARISS School Selection Committee Meeting Held The ARISS School Selection Committee teleconference was held on Thursday, January 13, 2005. Minutes will be posted to the ARISS website in the near future. 9. ARISS Acquires New Hardware The ARISS U.S. team purchased an IBM A31P Thinkpad computer. This is the same model computer that will be dedicated to the ISS Ham radio system on board the ISS. The ARISS team plans to test the SSTV system with this newly acquired computer. 10. ARRL Article on Mike Fincke's WAC Award After the Expedition 9 crew debriefing, Kenneth Ransom presented to Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, his International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Worked All Continents award. ARRL covered the story on January 11 in an article, "Ham-astronaut accepts WAC certificate." See: 11. Presentation on Amateur Radio in Space The new Power Point presentation about ham radio in space was announced in the March issue of QST (ARRL's monthly journal with 160,000 subscribers) and described on ARRL's teacher listserv. The show, "Amateur Radio in Space," which covers ham radio satellites and highlights ARISS, is downloadable from the ARRL web site. See: 12. ARRL Monthly Journal Features Space Research Center Project The March issue of QST featured a short story about the North East High Magnet School, in Philadelphia, PA, that sponsors the Space Research Center Project where students build and operate a simulation of a space shuttle mission, including Amateur Radio. The project was highlighted on Philadelphia channel 29 TV. 13. ARRL Magazine Covers ARISS ESA ESOC Contact A news item with a photo of members of the Amateur Radio club of the European Space Centre, in Darmstadt, Germany, was carried in the March QST because during their open house, they made an Amateur Radio contact with astronauts using ARISS gear on the ISS. The open house had 1200 visitors who were impressed that hams were able to talk to the astronauts as the ISS passed overhead. 14. ARRL Journal Article Features Ham Jack Yanosov A feature story, with photos, was run in the March QST about Jack Yanosov, who became a ham, and later designed the radios used by Neil Armstrong on the moon. Jack also developed a VHF ground penetrating radar project for Apollo 17. Jack's accomplishments became part of the Congressional Record in July 2004, thanks to U.S. Representative Frank LoBiondo of New Jersey. ***************** January 10, 2005 1. Japan Contact Successful On Friday, January 7, students from Mori Elementary School in Hyogo, Japan experienced a contact with the ISS. They were able to ask 20 questions of Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, during the 10 minute pass. Approximately 100 people attended the event. Media coverage included 5 newspapers and 1 local cable TV station. 2. Upcoming School Contacts John Baldwin Elementary School in Danville, California will have the opportunity to speak to Leroy Chiao. The school is scheduled for a contact on Thursday, January 13, 2005 at 18:31 UTC via the telebridge station VK5ZAI in Australia. An ARISS contact has been scheduled for B. Robespierre School, in Rueil Malmaison, France. It will take place on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 at 16:55 UTC. 3. ARRL Article on Tulsa and Rio de Janeiro Contacts The ARRL ran a web story on two recent ARISS contacts. The article, entitled, "Oklahoma, Brazil Youngsters Visit International Space Station via Ham Radio," can be found at: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/01/05/1/?nc=1 4. ARISS International Teleconference Scheduled The next ARISS International Teleconference will be held on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 at 12:30 UTC. ***************** January 6, 2005 1. Ohio School Contact Successful On January 2, Gilmour Academy in Gates Mills, Ohio experienced a successful ARISS contact with astronaut Mike Foale, KB5UAC. The Gilmour students asked 12 questions of Foale. Fifty people were in the audience during the contact. At least one newspaper and FOX TV covered the event. 2. Upcoming School Contacts The next ARISS contact is scheduled for Armstrong Middle School in Flint, Michigan. The contact will take place January 12, 2004. 3. ARRL Article on Foale’s Contacts for Roy Neal, K6DUE, Event ARRL published an article entitled, “ISS Commander Gets on the Air with New Ham Gear,” in their weekly ARRL Letter. See: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/04/0102/ 4. ARISS Paper to be Published ARISS Chairman, Frank Bauer, received an inquiry from the magazine, CQ VHF to publish the paper written on the Phase 2 Hardware entitled, “Amateur Radio on the International Space Station- Phase 2 Hardware System.” The magazine, CQ VHF, is a USA-based Amateur Radio magazine that caters to Amateur Radio development and operations at VHF frequencies and above. The paper and photos were submitted and will be published in the winter edition of CQ VHF. To view the paper, see: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/Papers/Phase%202%20AGM03Final.pdf