[sarex] 2012-07-16 ARISS Status

[Carol Jackson]

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report

July 16, 2012

 

 

1.            Upcoming School Contact

 

ESA Space Camp, which is being held at St. Columba’s College, Whitechurch,
Dublin, Ireland, has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Sunday, July 22 at 17:25 UTC
via telebridge station W6SRJ in California. The ARISS contact is part of an
educational program of which some activities are based around André Kuipers’
mission, Spaceship Earth. Children at the camp will have 2 weeks of space
education covering the themes of Climate, Biodiversity and the Human Body as
well as Earth Observation and the Solar System.  The children will also
receive lessons about how to communicate with the crew on the ISS from a ham
radio expert.

 

2.            ARISS Contact with Women in STEM 

 

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was held
with Women in STEM High School Aerospace Scholars in Houston, Texas on
Tuesday, July 10 via telebridge station W6SRJ in California. The high school
girls came from across the U.S. to participate in the program which provided
them the opportunity to plan a space exploration mission and to learn from
women that work at NASA. Joe Acaba, KE5DAR on ISS answered 23 questions
during the Q&A session. Approximately 150 students and guests were present
for the event.  Video may be viewed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igM-2qegJWo&feature=youtu.be

 

3.            ARISS Exhibit at Moon Day 2012

 

Moon Day 2012 will be held at the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Love Field
in Dallas, Texas on July 21 to commemorate Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon
on July 21, 1969. The event will feature space exhibits, demonstrations and
other space activities. AMSAT and ARISS will set up a booth to showcase
amateur radio satellites including a model of the Fox-1 satellite and will
provide and distribute information on the ARISS program.
http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/event-view.cfm?Event_ID=37613

 

4.            Expedition 30/31Crew Scheduled for Debrief 

 

Astronauts Don Pettit and André Kuipers (Expedition 30/31) will take part in
a debrief session to give feedback on the ARISS program. The debrief is
currently scheduled for August 15.

 

5.            AMSAT News Service on ARISS 

 

On July 15, AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) posted an article in
its News Service bulletin (ANS-197) on the Soyuz TMA-05M crew that was
launched on July 15 and is headed toward the Space Station. “NASA TV to
Cover Three Hams Docking at ISS” may be found at:
http://amsat.org/pipermail/ans/2012/000634.html

 

6.            ARRL Covers ARISS News

 

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) ran a story in its July 12 ARRL
Letter about the new crew members joining Expedition 32 on the ISS. “Three
Hams Scheduled to Head to ISS This Weekend” may be viewed at:

http://www.arrl.org/news/three-hams-scheduled-to-head-to-iss-this-weekend

 

ARRL’s August QST included a few ARISS items as well:

There was a long article about long-haul truckers who enjoy Amateur Radio
contacts on the road, made from their rigs.   Author Norm Fusaro (W3IZ)
reported about one particular trucker, "Of the thousands of contacts he has
made from his truck John recalls making a packet connection to the
International Space Station as one of his most memorable contacts.  John
said he made this contact at a rest stop."

A short article in the "Up Front" column covered ARISS team member Farrell
Winder, W8ZCF, and Jeff Winder, KB8VCO, who described how they and two other
hams worldwide managed to make a 70 cm SSTV contact via ARISSat-1 late last
year. Farrell said it was "a lot of hard earned fun, challenge and
education."  

Farrell was on the ARISS team.