A distant view of the International Space Station

• Watch NASA TV
ARISS event - Heidelberg University for Applied Sciences, Heidelberg, Germany

An International Space Station Expedition 15 ARISS school contact has been planned with participants at Heidelberg University for Applied Sciences, Heidelberg, Germany on 24 Sep. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 08:00 UTC.

The contact will be a telebridge between stations NA1SS and WH6PN. The contact should be audible in Hawaii. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. In addition, the audio should be available via IRLP and EchoLink. The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English.

Currently, we build a CubeSat-Satellite called HeidelSat. It should measure cosmic rays. The launch is planned for September 2009. Also we build a ground station for it with a satellite dish having a diameter of 3,4m. It will operate in July 2007. In that project we do involve children from the age of 12 years onwards.

Currently we meet every Wednesday to prepare for the radio amateur license exam which will take place on September 7th. Also, of course students are involved in that project.

If we can have an organized radio contact with the International Space Station, we would then invite all schools around Heidelberg area for that event. We plan to present films about Sputnik, Gagarin, Apollo11, Jules Verne's story "The travel to the Moon". Also we plan to invite Prof. Messerschmitt from Stuttgart to give a talk. And of course we present our HeidelSat.

Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows:

1. How does a compass work on the ISS?
2. What was the reason for you to participate in this extraordinary mission, and will your expectations be fulfilled?
3. Is there anything human you can see from space?
4. How much free time do you have and how do you spend it?
5. Has the International Space Station already rammed space scrap metal?

6. As there is no gravitation is it possible to take a shower on the ISS?
7. Was it your childhood dream to become an astronaut?
8. What is the coolest thing you have seen or done on the ISS yet?
9. Do you miss your family when you are in Space?
10. Can you describe what you feel when you see the Earth from above?

11. You have spent six months in space. Are you happy to come back to Earth?
12. Which training did you get to become an astronaut?
13. Do watches work in Space? Does one have a feeling of time in Space?
14. Have you ever seen an asteroid near your space station?
15. Do you do optical observation in meteorite research, if so what do you see?

16. Are all of you able to do all the tasks on the ISS or are you specialized for only a few tasks?
17. How does your emergency-flat look like if your resources come to an end, the oxygen is scarce or a vital part of the International Space Station is destroyed and you cannot be reached from the earth?
18. How do you brush your teeth on the ISS?
19. What do you do if some member gets seriously sick, for example, an acute appendicitis and needs to get an operation?
20. How do you organize your daily life? Do you have any privacy?

Information about the next scheduled ARISS contact can be found at http://www.rac.ca/ariss/upcoming.htm#NextContact

Packet is now active on 145.825 simplex but will be shut down prior to the Soyuz relocation activity planned for Sep 27.

Next planned event(s):
1. Goforth Elementary School, Clear Creek, Texas, telebridge via WH6PN Wed 2007-09-26 16:52 UTC

2. Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC., telebridge via WH6PN Sat 2007-09-29 16:28 UTC

3. Town of Anamizu ARISS School Contact Executive Committee, Anamizu-town, Housu-gun Ishikawa, Japan, via 8J9ISS Sat 2007-10-06 09:24 UTC

4. Prairielands Council, Boy Scouts of America, Space Jamboree Camp Robert Drake (Oakwood, IL), Champaign, Illinois, telebridge via VK4KHZ Sat 2007-10-06 19:12 UTC

ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the participating space agencies, NASA, Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES, JAXA, and CSA, with the AMSAT and IARU organizations from participating countries.

ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crewmembers on-board the International Space Station.

Teachers, parents and communities see, first hand, how Amateur Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize
youngsters' interest in science, technology, and learning.

Further information on the ARISS program is available on the website http://www.rac.ca/ariss (graciously hosted by the Radio Amateurs of Canada).

Thank you & 73,
Kenneth - N5VHO