ISS Fan Club

Topics in this report:
1. Upcoming School Contact
2. Armada Area Schools – ARISS Contact Postponed
3. ARISS Founder Ron Parise Passes on
4. ARISS Member Interviewed on Australian TV
5. NASA Tool Aids Amateur Radio Operators
6. Wings over the Rockies Amateur Radio Event
7. ARISS Presentation at Dayton Hamvention
8. Ron Parise Memorial

1. Upcoming School Contact
Delta Researchers Schools 2008, Space Expo in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact via telebridge station WH6PN in Hawaii. The contact will take place on Friday, May 23 at 15:01 UTC. Twelve Dutch primary schools which participate in the Delta project will be represented at Space Expo. The project is a cooperation of the Dutch ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA. The schools participating in the project use the themes of space and space exploration to teach science and technology. Three children (ages 7 – 12) from each school will be present.

2. Armada Area Schools – ARISS Contact Postponed
The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact which was scheduled with the Armada area schools in Michigan on May 9 was postponed due to crew scheduling issues. It will be rescheduled in the fall. In place of the May 9 contact, the Teaching From Space Office at Johnson Space Center arranged a teleconference between the Armada students and astronaut Bill McArthur in Houston Texas. Bill spent several minutes talking about the International Space Station and answered in detail 15 student questions. There were approximately 550 participants present at the school. The Teaching From Space Office also sent an educational resource package to the school which included seeds that were flown in space. The Armada schools are looking forward to a direct ARISS contact in the fall.

3. ARISS Founder Ron Parise Passes on
Astronaut Ron Parise, WA4SIR, passed away on Friday, May 9. Ron was a key player in the development of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program and a strong supporter of educational outreach activities. He spoke with hundreds of hams on the ground during his Shuttle flights STS-35 and STS-67 and was the first to operate packet radio in orbit. He was instrumental in developing both the ISS Ham radio systems currently onboard the ISS and the telebridge station concept with the specific purpose of encouraging students to pursue studies in technical fields. ARISS Chairman Frank Bauer wrote a memorial to Ron which has been included at the end of this report.

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) published this story: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/05/10/10092/?nc=1

4. ARISS Member Interviewed on Australian TV
ARISS member Tony Hutchison, VK5ZAI, was interviewed and appeared on the Australian Channel 7 Today Tonight Show. He described his work with the educational Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program. The Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) posted the news clip with permission from Channel 7. See: http://www.wia.org.au/discover/videoaudio/video/documents/Low_VK5ZAI_Today_Tonight_320X240X256.wmv

5. NASA Tool Aids Amateur Radio Operators
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) ran an article covering NASA’s new 4D Ionosphere tool. The tool can aid amateur radio operators in radio communications. To view the story, go to: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/05/07/10081/?nc=1

NASA’s article has been posted to: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/30apr_4dionosphere.htm?list212589

6. Wings over the Rockies Amateur Radio Event
On Friday, May 23, Wings over the Rockies Air and Space Museum in Denver, Colorado will open a new exhibit, "Colorado's Astronauts: in their own words." It will also host ceremonies for the presentation of NASA's Ambassador of Exploration Award honoring one of Colorado's astronauts, Jack Swigert. NASA officials will present the award to Jack Swigert’s sister, Virginia Swigert. Guests include James A. Lovell, Fred Haise, Ken Mattingly as well as other astronauts and Colorado Governor Bill Ritter. To celebrate the event, an amateur radio special event station K0WAR, will operate on 14250 or 7250 kHz from 09:00 to 21:00 local Denver time (May 23, 15:00 UTC to May 24, 03:00 UTC). An 8-1/2 x 11 QSL certificate will be distributed to confirmed contacts providing an SASE. For more information on the event, see: http://www.wingsmuseum.org/index.php

7. ARISS Presentation at Dayton Hamvention
The Dayton Hamvention will be held at the Hara Arena Complex in Dayton, Ohio on May 16 - 18. The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) will both support exhibit booths at the event. Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Australian telebridge operator Tony Hutchison, VK5ZAI, plans to give a presentation on "A Ham Radio Operator's View of ARISS" at the AMSAT forum which will cover new ARISS initiatives and a status report on SuitSat-2. The Dayton Hamvention is an internationally attended amateur radio convention that draws crowds of 25,000 annually. For more information on Dayton Hamvention 2008, go to: http://www.hamvention.org/hv2008/forums/forumlist.htm

8. Ron Parise Memorial
It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of a great friend, colleague and fellow ham radio operator. Dr. Ronald A. Parise, WA4SIR, left this Earth today, Friday May 9, 2008 after a very long and courageous battle with cancer.

Ron Parise was--and continues to be--an inspiration to countless students, ham radio operators, and friends the world over. His accomplishments were many, including: space explorer, pioneer, astrophysicist, pilot, ham radio operator, avionics and software expert, inspirational speaker and motivator, student satellite mentor, husband, father, and friend. While he certainly did some truly extraordinary things in his lifetime, Ron Parise is best known and cherished for keeping family and friends first…and for this, we will miss him most.

Ron flew as a payload specialist on two Space Shuttle missions: STS-35 on the Space Shuttle Columbia in December 1990 and STS-67 on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in March 1995. These two missions, called ASTRO-1 & 2 respectively, carried out Ultraviolet and X-ray astronomy observations. He logged over 614 hours and 10.6 million miles in space. Ron and his crew members on ASTRO-1 became the first astronomers to operate a telescope from space, making hundreds of observations during the mission. His personal contributions to these two missions have provided scientists with an unprecedented view of our universe, expanding our understanding of the birth, life and death of stars and galaxies.

Ron was also the ultimate ham radio operator—in space and on the ground. First licensed when he was 11, Ron kept the amateur radio hobby at the forefront of everything he did—including his operations from space. During his two Space Shuttle flights, he talked to hundreds of hams on the ground, giving new meaning to the phrase the “ultimate DX-pedition”. He was instrumental in guiding the development of a simple ham radio system that could be used in multiple configurations on the Space Shuttle. As a result, his first flight on STS-35 ushered in the “frequent flyer” era of the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) payload. He was the first ham in space to operate packet radio. And his flight pioneered the telebridge ground station concept to enable more schools to talk to Shuttle crew members despite time and orbit constraints. In his two shuttle flights, he inspired countless students to seek technical careers and he created memories at the schools and communities that will never be forgotten.

Ron’s love for the amateur radio hobby and his love of inspiring students continued well beyond his two Shuttle flights. During the formation of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program, Ron was a tremendous resource to the newly forming international team. I know of many instances where Ron’s wisdom and sage advice was instrumental in helping our international team resolve issues when we reached critical technical or political roadblocks. And he was a key volunteer in the development of the ham radio hardware systems that are now on-board ISS. The ARISS team is deeply indebted to WA4SIR for his leadership, technical advice and tremendous vision.

Ron worked hand-in-hand with the students at the Naval Academy and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University on the development of their student satellites. He helped develop Radio Jove—a student educational project to listen to the radio signals emanating from Jupiter. And he spoke at numerous schools over the years, inspiring them to pursue careers in science, math and technology.

I feel blessed to have had Ron as a friend, colleague, ham buddy and mentor. He gave so much, cheerfully, to our collective hobby and was always there with the right answer no matter the topic. I will miss him dearly.

In an effort to continue Ron’s tireless work to inspire the next generation, the Parise family has set up a scholarship fund in Ron’s honor. The scholarship is for students pursuing technical degrees at Youngtown State University, where Ron received his Bachelors of Science degree. In lieu of flowers, those interested are welcome to send donations to the Dr. Ronald A. Parise Scholarship Fund, Youngstown State University, One University Plaza, Youngstown, Ohio 44555.

On behalf of AMSAT and the ARISS International team, I would like to extend our collective condolences to the Parise family and to all Ron’s friends. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

And to Ron Parise, WA4SIR SK: Our sincerest 73's and 88's…may your exploration spirit live on in us all!!

Frank H. Bauer, KA3HDO
AMSAT-NA V.P. for Human Spaceflight Programs
Chairman, ARISS International

Source ARISS Weekly Status