ISS Fan Club

Topics in this report:
1. Upcoming School Contacts
2. JAXA Astronaut Enjoys ARISS Contact with Alma Mater
3. ARISS to Receive Boselli Award
4. Astronaut Training Status

1. Upcoming School Contacts
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled with Ikaruga Elementary School in Taishi Town, Hyogo, Japan on Tuesday, March 9 at 07:28 UTC. In the classroom, students learned about their local environment as well as that of the earth on a global scale, and studied environmental issues such as global warming. They also researched the ISS to prepare for this contact. This activity is a crew pick of JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi who is an alumnus of the school.

Astronauts orbiting 220 miles above Earth will discuss science and living in space with students from Mueller Aerospace and Engineering Discovery Magnet School in Wichita, Kan., on Tuesday, March 2.

The call between the students and International Space Station Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineers T.J. Creamer and Soichi Noguchi will take place from 10:35 to 10:55 a.m. CST. The event will be held at Exploration Place in Wichita. Reporters interested in attending the event should contact Susan Arensman of Wichita Public Schools at 316-973-4582.

NASA has a number of employees who work in the station's mission operations who are from Wichita or attended Wichita State University. Journalists interested in speaking with these employees should contact Kelly Humphries at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston at 281-483-5111.

Topics in this report:
1. Upcoming School Contact
2. Timothy Creamer Chats with Doncaster Students via ARISS Contact
3. ARISS Annual Report 2009 Posted
4. ARISS News on Amateur Radio Newsline

1. Upcoming School Contact
Expedition 22 astronaut Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP will participate in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Hamasuka Junior High School in Chigasaki City, Kanagawa, Japan on Thursday, March 4. This is a direct contact and is scheduled for 10:09 UTC. Noguchi is an alumnus of the school.

2. Timothy Creamer Chats with Doncaster Students via ARISS Contact

Topocs in this report:
1. Upcoming School Contact
2. ARISS International Team Meeting Held
3. ARISS News on Amateur Radio Newsline
4. ARISSat-1 Meeting Held

1. Upcoming School Contact
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled with Doncaster Primary School in Doncaster, Victoria, Australia on Thursday, February 25 at 08:23 UTC. Astronaut Timothy Creamer, KC5WKI will make the connection through telebridge ground station VK4KHZ in Australia. The contact has been integrated into school subjects such as physics, space, geography and English.

Topics in this report:
1. Astronaut Training Status
2. ARRL QST Covers ARISS News
3. ARISSat-1 Meeting to be Held

1. Astronaut Training Status
Astronaut Ron Garan participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program training session and plans to study for his amateur radio license. He is scheduled to fly with the Expedition 27 crew in March 2011.

Expedition 23 cosmonauts, both prime and backup crew members, received training on the ARISS radio equipment. See: http://www.energia.ru/en/iss/iss23/photo_02-09.html

2. ARRL QST Covers ARISS News
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) published an ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) news item in its March 2010 issue of QST. Under "This Just In" is an item about the record number of ARISS educational activities coordinated in 2009. The ARRL monthly journal has a circulation of 150,000.

Topics in this report:
1. Astronaut T. J. Creamer Enjoys ARISS Contact with Riley Ave. Students
2. Principal has Good Memories of First ARISS Contact
3. ISS Ham Debrief Held with Frank De Winne
4. ARISSat-1 Status Report Posted

1. Astronaut T. J. Creamer Enjoys ARISS Contact with Riley Ave. Students
On Tuesday, February 2, astronaut Timothy Creamer, KC5WKI spoke with Riley Avenue Elementary School students through an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact. The Calverton, New York youth spent weeks preparing for the contact, studying space and the solar system during Science and creating rockets and robots in Art class. The Peconic Amateur Radio Club helped coordinate the contact and provided the equipment used. A Riley fourth grader and newly licensed ham acted as the control operator during the contact.

Gould Smith, WA4SXM writing on behalf of the ARISSAT-1 team said construction of the flight unit begins in early February when Tony Monteiro, AA2TX begins electronic assembly of the first US flight unit for ARISSat.

The ARISSAT-1 team has had prototypes working for months. The enclosures have been painted by NASA and the cables prepared by Larry Brown, W7LB. The flight boards were built by the Microchip ARISSat team and Chuck Green, N0ADI, with Chuck checking all the flight units.

Lou McFadin, W5DID has nearly assembled a complete flight structure (see photo above) designed by Bob Davis, KF4KSS. Lou expects to exhibit the structure in the AMSAT Booth at the upcoming Orlando HamCation. The first two flight TX/RX/Command receiver modules from Bill Ress, N6GHZ are due to arrive in February.

Topics in this report:
1. Upcoming School Contact
2. JAXA Astronaut Participates in ARISS Contact with Boy Scouts
3. Moscow Aviation Institute Experiment Activated
4. ISS Ham Debrief Scheduled

1. Upcoming School Contact
Riley Avenue Elementary School in Calverton, New York has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Tuesday, February 2 at 17:43 UTC. The school is integrating the contact throughout subject areas including but not limited to art, science, math, and English Language Arts.

2. JAXA Astronaut Participates in ARISS Contact with Boy Scouts

Topics in this report:
1. Upcoming School Contact
2. JAXA Astronaut Chats with Students via ARISS Contact
3. Astronauts Participate in Simulated ARISS Contacts
4. ARISS International Meeting Held

1. Upcoming School Contact
Morioka Children’s Museum of Science in Morioka, Iwate, Japan has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP on Thursday, January 28 at 06:53 UTC. The youth are currently learning about the ISS, satellite orbits and amateur radio. The contact is expected to be conducted in Japanese.

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) debrief session was held with Expedition 20/21 crew members Nicole Stott, KE5GJN and Robert Thirsk, VA3CSA on Tuesday, January 5. The feedback provided by the astronauts will help ARISS update program procedures.

http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/news/