[sarex] 2012-10-15 ARISS Status

[Carol Jackson]

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

October 15, 2012

 

 

 

1.            Upcoming School Contacts

 

CRA Pozohondo, Nava De Abajo (Pozohondo), Spain is preparing for an Amateur
Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact to be held on
Tuesday, October 16 at 09:26 UTC via telebridge station LU8YY in Argentina.
Students are learning about astronomy, photography and radio communications
among other topics. The ARISS contact will be one of the hands-on activities
highlighting these subjects. See the school Web site:
http://edu.jccm.es/cra/cra_pozohondo

 

Wattsburg Area School District in Erie, Pennsylvania has been slated for an
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Friday,
October 19 at 16:11 UTC via telebridge station VK4KHZ in Australia. NASA
astronaut Michael Fincke has been invited to attend the event. The contact
will stimulate interest and participation in extracurricular activities
including the Robotics Club, Astronomy Club, Amateur Radio Club, Science
Olympiad Team and others.

 

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been
scheduled for the National Scouting Museum, Irving, Texas on Saturday,
October 20 at 18:32 UTC via telebridge station VK6MJ in Australia. The Boy
Scouts of America hosts an annual international event, Jamboree on the Air
(JOTA), which is in its 55th year, whereby Scouts of all ages from around
the world connect with each other using Amateur Radio equipment. The
National Scouting Museum has been a site for, and hosted an event in
conjunction with JOTA for four years.

 

2.            ARISS Contacts Held

 

Students from St. George's International School in Luxembourg participated
in a Q&A session with Sunita Williams, KD5PLB on Monday, October 8 via an
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact. The radio
connection was handled by telebridge station W6SRJ in California.
Approximately 700 students, teachers and guests were in attendance - 200 in
the gym watched live and another 500 in the classrooms watched a "live
stream" of the contact. The audience included several VIPs: the UK
Ambassador Alice Walpole, the Head Teacher Heather Duxbury and the Deputy
Head Teachers (Kath Griffiths and Mark Stenton) of both primary and
secondary sections.  Guest speakers gave talks on satellites as well as the
NASA "Moon Buggie" project. The contact was one of the educational
activities the students from both sections took part in to learn about
electricity, astronomy and physics. 

 

On Tuesday, October 9, Liceo Statale Adelaide Cairoli in Pavia, Italy took
part in its Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact
via station W6SRJ in California. On-orbit astronaut Sunita Williams, KD5PLB,
was able to answer 18 questions during the contact as nearly 1100 students
gathered for the event. The school uses amateur radio as a teaching tool and
its radio club provides students the opportunity to speak with other
amateurs all over the world using different languages.  This ARISS contact
was used to focus on technology, science and foreign languages. The video
may be viewed here: http://livestre.am/4aJ08

 

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was held
with youth attending the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Pacific Division
annual convention, PACIFICON in Santa Clara, California on Saturday, October
13. Telebridge station IK1SLD in Italy provided the radio connection.
Astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, KE5DNI, on the ISS participated in the contact
which was the featured event of the PACIFICON Youth Program that emphasized
hands-on radio operation, electronics kit building, orbital mathematics and
CubeSat satellite design, among other STEM activities. Fellow astronaut Dr.
Lee Morin gave a presentation at the event and exchanged greetings with
Hoshide at the end of the ISS pass. An audience of approximately 150 was
present for the contact; 2500 attended the convention.

 

3.            AMSAT News Service on ARISS 

 

The October 14 AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) News Service
bulletin (ANS-288) posted an article on upcoming JOTA activities at the
National Scouting Museum in Irving, Texas, which will include an ARISS
contact. "National Scouting Museum to Celebrate JOTA With ARISS Contact" may
be found at: http://amsat.org/pipermail/ans/2012/000657.html

 

4.            U.S. Schools Announce Upcoming Contacts

 

Anacapa School in Santa Barbara, California and Bates College Museum of Art
in Lewiston, Maine have both announced ARISS contacts planned for their
schools in Spring 2013.  See:

http://www.noozhawk.com/article/100412_anacapa_live_qa_international_space_s
tation/ 

and

http://www.bates.edu/news/2012/10/04/starstruck-space-station/