ARISS queries - answered

The ARISS team has had a number of queries on several topics, and it's hoped that this bulletin will answer these for you.

1) 25th Anniversary of Ham in Space Special Event Certificate
Many have asked how to receive the special certificate and what qualifies you for the certificate.

Qualification: Those that have had 2 way communications with the ISS on Voice, Packet (APRS), or through the voice repeater. And those that have heard the ISS from space in any of the ARISS operations modes (Voice, SSTV, School Contact, Voice Repeater, Digital). Valid dates to qualify for certificate: November 30 to January 15.

Receiving the Certificate:

A) Please note on your QSL the ARISS mode of operation (e.g. SSTV, voice, school, etc) and whether the contact with you was 1 way (receive only) or 2 way.

B) Send your SASE to the normal ARISS QSL volunteer distributor in your area of the world.

C) On the outside of the QSL envelope, please include the words "25th Anniversary Certificate"

D) Make sure your envelope is big enough to accept an 8.5 by 11 inch certificate and includes the proper postage.

E) Go to www.ariss.org if you do not know where to send your QSL and please use one of the standard international QSL distributors that are noted on the Web page.

Important note: We will be sending your certificate to the volunteer distributors in bulk AFTER the event is over. (This saves workload and money). So do not expect to see it until 1-2 months after the event closes on January 15.

2) Richard Garriott QSL Card
There are have several queries about the final results of Richard Garriott's flight and how the QSL cards will be handled.

QSO Results: Richard made over 500 voice QSOs during his flight, clearly more than any single ham has made on-orbit during a short duration mission. And he sent down about 1000 SSTV images during his flight.

QSL Card: Those that had a QSO with Richard can receive an ARISS QSL card using the normal ARISS process. (See www.ariss.org). Richard Garriott is also planning a personal card which is in development. Once it is developed, they will be shipped to the ARISS international QSL distribution volunteers for distribution.

The current plan is that those that have already sent in for an ARISS QSL card will also get a Richard Garriott personal card once it is available. If you made a contact with Richard, have not sent in your QSL, and would like Richard's personal QSL card, please stand by for QSL distribution instructions until the QSL card is ready. The distribution of this special QSL will parallel how we are distributing the 25th Anniversary Certificate.

3) SSTV Operations Web Site
The ARISS team appreciated the special web page support from UC Berkeley. They allowed us to use their server to support SSTV operations during the Richard Garriott's flight. This was a temporary solution. The web site is currently down while we move the web pages from the Berkeley site to the AMSAT server. This should be completed in the next few days. You will see a follow-on e-mail with details on connecting up to the SSTV Operations server. We thank you for your patience.

On behalf of the ARISS International team of volunteers, I thank you all for your interest and participation in the ARISS Program.

73, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO

AMSAT V.P. for Human Spaceflight Programs
ARISS International Chairman