June 13: ARISS team member Ana Guzman gave a presentation to 13 junior high and high school teachers; she described activities she and others on the staff manage at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) ISS Research office. Some of their many duties include those tied to ARISS and ham radio. Kjell Lindgren came by to share with teachers some aspects of his ARISS school contacts and ham radio experiences on the ISS. Ana’s presentation was just one activity at JSC for these teachers during a week-long program that offered Continuing Education Credits. They received tours and presentations about many areas of JSC including the Neutral Buoyancy Lab, Moon Rock Lab, and visits to other fascinating departments. The program, sponsored by the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, focused on teachers from many neighboring municipalities in the Houston metropolitan area.
May 27: At the Griffith Observatory Public Star Party in Mt. Hollywood, CA, ARISS volunteer Liam Kennedy set up a tent from 1:00 pm to 9:30 pm to capture the attention of some of the day’s 7,000 visitors. He arranged his table with monitors showing ARISS activities, the ARISS-Pi software-defined radio equipment, everything needed from the ARISS SPARKI kit for people to monitor amateur radio (and other) satellite activity, and small posters in English and Spanish about the ISS,. As people walked near, they stopped to watch how to monitor satellites and ask questions. Liam reported that at least 900 of the public—parents, youth, teachers, and radio and space enthusiasts—interacted with him. He said, “Other people heading to or from the observatory listened a few minutes.” An observatory staffer told Liam they had never seen so many of the public so attentive to actions at a tent.
February-March-April: ARISS learned that educators and students at Augusta Preparatory School in Augusta, GA have been readying quite a while for their upcoming ARISS contact. Technology teacher Mary White, who took part in an ARISS Educate the Educator workshop in March, worked with faculty and ARISS volunteers to devise a variety of monthly workshops for the Lower, Middle and Upper schools’ students to introduce them to communications, ham radio, and electronics. ARISS volunteer Rachel Jones with members of the Amateur Radio Club of Columbia County (ARCCC), helped plan exciting hands-on activities. The first month, the club guided kids in listening to Morse code, researching codes, and trying Morse code for themselves. ARCCC members led the next session, “Radio Day,” helping teachers introduce students to radio waves and to reinforce the lesson by having students “make radio waves” with Slinkies. Youth put together and tried tin-can-and-string telephones and then explored getting on the air using ham radio equipment and making radio contacts with area ham operators. The next month was declared “All School Picnic Day;” ARCCC members led students in building VHF antennas and then trying out their antennas by making radio contacts and participating in a hidden radio transmitter “Fox Hunt.”
May 28-June 2: After John Stoffner delighted ham radio operators and space enthusiasts by making radio contacts with them before heading back to earth, Warren Hoburg got on the mic to do the same. Hams reported their excitement about making radio contacts with both crew members using the ISS’s ham radio station. One ham operator posted this to the ARISS
Facebook page: “Talked with Woody yesterday! Too Cool!” Reports showed 13 crew contacts were made on one particular day. Ham operators love “meeting” crew members on the air.
ARISS Upcoming Events
June 20: Youth at Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, Dubai UAE–ARISS contact, ARISS-Europe Team
June 21: Space Port Area Conference for Educators, KSC, FL–ARISS contact, ARISS Educator Forum, ARISS Educate-the-Educator Workshop, ARISS-US Team
June 22: Youth at Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, Dubai UAE–ARISS contact, ARISS-Europe Team