1. ARISS School Contacts Status

Due crew schedules onboard the ISS, no Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contacts are planned at this time. The ARISS team expects contacts to resume once STS-122 launches in early February.

2. Astronaut Training Status

On Wednesday, January 16, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka, RN3FU, participated in a simulation of an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) school contact. The Kenwood D700 radio in the JSC Service Module mockup was used for the contact. Skripochka spoke with the training support team who participated as students, asking Oleg questions about space and his visit on ISS. He is currently scheduled as an Expedition 17 backup crew member.

3. ARISS Annual Report Posted

The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) FY2007 Annual Report has been posted to the ARISS section of the AMSAT Web site. See: [url=http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/Papers/Annual Reports/ARISS_Annual_Report_2007_Final.pdf] 2007 Annual Report[/url]

4. Gail Borden Library Wins Award

The Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin, Illinois was one of five libraries to win the 2008 John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award. The library won the award for its "Space: Dare to Dream" exhibit. A highlight of the exhibit, which ran for four months during 2007, was an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact. The Summer Reading program resulted in an increase in program participants, library card registrations and material circulation.

Source [url=http://www.rac.ca/ariss/oindex.htm#ARISS Status]ARISS Weekly Status[/url]