ISS Fan Club

1. Upcoming School Contacts
Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, Florida has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Monday, April 21 at 17:48 UTC via the telebridge station W6SRJ in Santa Rosa, California. Arnold Palmer is one of 8 hospitals under the Orlando Regional Healthcare umbrella and addresses the unique medical needs of children in the Central Florida area. The children who participate in this contact will be patients at the hospital. It will be an exciting surprise and enriching experience that will make their hospital stay a memorable event. The audio from this contact will be fed into the EchoLink AMSAT (101 377) and JK1ZRW (277 208) Conference Room servers and the IRLP Discovery Reflector 9010.

Students from the Shchelkovo School in Star City, Russia, will experience an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Wednesday, April 23 at 09:24 UTC. The school will be assisted by the telebridge station ON4ISS in Belgium. Cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, RN3DX, will participate using the callsign OR4ISS. The audio from this contact will be fed into the EchoLink AMSAT (101 377) and JK1ZRW (277 208) Conference Room servers and the IRLP Discovery Reflector 9010.

The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) in Washington, D.C. has been approved for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Saturday, May 3 at 15:52 UTC via the telebridge station NN1SS in Greenbelt. This year Space Day will celebrate the 50th anniversary of NASA and NASA’s achievements through space exploration. Youth, ages 12 -18, will participate in the contact. The Washington Post, the NASM Web site and NASM e-news will cover the event which is open to the public. Thousands are expected to attend.

2. New Jersey School Contact, a Success
On Monday, April 14, students from Central Middle School in Parsippany, New Jersey, participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with alumnus Garrett Reisman, KE5HAE. Eighteen questions were asked and answered. Over 900 students, parents and others gathered at the school to witness the event. One radio station, three television stations (ABC, CBS, NJ12) and four newspapers including the Star Ledger, the Daily Record, Parsippany Life and the New York Times reported on the contact. The school also had its district communication, “Video on the Go” hooked up. The activity was recorded and available for viewing on their Web site. All 14 district schools had the opportunity to view the contact live.
The Daily Record article may be found on:
http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080415/COMMUNITIES38/804150329&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

To view the Star Ledger article, go to:
http://www.nj.com/starledger/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-4/120823411560940.xml&coll=1

3. ARISS - Korean Museum Contact Successful
Students visiting the National Science Museum of Korea participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Friday, April 18. Spaceflight participant Yi So-yeon, HL0ARISS, answered nine questions posed to her by the students in front of an audience of approximately 800. Over five television stations and four newspapers covered the event.

4. ARISS International Team Meeting Held
The monthly Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) teleconference was held on Tuesday, April 15. Agenda items discussed included the preparations for the ARISS meeting in Moscow and the status of new telebridge stations under consideration. The minutes have been posted to the ARISS Web site. See: http://www.rac.ca/ariss/arisstel2008-04-15.htm

5. Astronaut Training Status
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) training session was held for Expedition 19 crew member Bob Thirsk, VA3CSA, on Thursday, April 17. Chris Hadfield, KC5RNJ/VA3OOG, Thirsk’s back-up, will attend an ARISS training session on Friday, May 2.

Source ARISS Weekly Status