[sarex] 2012-08-13 ARISS Status

[Carol Jackson]

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

August 13, 2012

 

 

1.            Upcoming School Contacts

 

Kangaroo Inn Area School, Kangaroo Inn, South Australia, Australia is
planning for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
contact to be held on Tuesday, August 14 at 08:29 UTC via station W6SRJ in
California.  The contact will be integrated into a science curriculum
covering space and space exploration.

 

Wada Elementary School in Nagawa Town, Japan has been scheduled for an
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on
Thursday, August 16 at 08:01 UTC.  The school offers a “General Education”
subject through which students select their themes and write reports. One of
the most popular subjects chosen this year was “Space.” The subject has been
so popular because the children have been exposed to many space-related
activities over the past few years including the recent International Year
of Astronomy and the unmanned spacecraft, Hayabusa that was developed by the
Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to return a sample of material
from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa to Earth for further
analysis last year. Children observed an eclipse on May 21 and will visit
the Nobeyama Radio Observatory over the summer. They will also be given
radio kits so that they understand how receivers work. It is hoped that JAXA
will support the school program and provide the youth with further
information about space and the ISS.

 

Meikei High School in Tsukuba, Japan will participate in an Amateur Radio on
the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Friday, August 17 at
07:09 UTC.  The school was established in 1979 by an alumni association
formed principally by the graduates of the University of Tsukuba and Tokyo
University of Education. Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide is a graduate of
the school. The school’s science club has a Radio & Electronics Group with
its own radio station, callsign JJ1YAF. Club members and other interested
students are learning about the ISS, orbital mechanics and amateur radio
satellite communications through this activity. The group will speak with
Akihiko Hoshide during this ARISS contact.  

 

2.            Failed Contact with Canada Science and Technology Museum 

 

Canada Science and Technology Museum Summer Day Camps had been scheduled for
an ARISS contact on Thursday, August 9 via station IK1SLD in Italy.  The
contact was unsuccessful.  ARISS is investigating the reason for the
failure.  

 

3.            Expedition 30/31 Scheduled for Debrief 

 

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

 

4.            AMSAT News Service on ARISS 

 

The August 12 AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) News Service
bulletin (ANS-225) has an item about Mark Hammond, N8MH, AMSAT Vice
President of Educational Relations who will attend the AMSAT-UK Space
Colloquium in September. Hammond will give a presentation on Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education, including a status on the
ARISS program.  See: http://amsat.org/pipermail/ans/2012/000641.html