ZCZC AS24 QST de W1AW Space Bulletin 024 ARLS024 >From ARRL Headquarters Newington, CT December 1, 2000 To all radio amateurs
SB SPACE ARL ARLS024 ARLS024 ARISS international partners meet
The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station international--or ARISS--partners are meeting December 1-3 at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. The three-day session will update current status of the ARISS program and attempt to map its future direction.
Expected on hand were ARISS delegates from the US, Russia, Germany, Belgium, Canada, Japan and Italy, in addition to representatives of NASA, AMSAT-NA, TAPR and the Mir Amateur Radio EXperiment group, MAREX-NA.
Space Amateur Radio EXperiment Working Group (SAREX) Chairman Roy Neal, K6DUE, will serve as meeting moderator. ARISS rules and bylaws development and ratification tops the list of discussion items this weekend.
The Expedition 1 crew of Commander William ''Shep'' Shepherd, KD5GSL, and Russian cosmonauts Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, and Yuri Gidzenko has been aboard the ISS since November 2. With about three months left in its tour of duty, the crew has been extremely busy with its normal work schedule. Crew members did take time earlier this month to check out the initial amateur station gear aboard the ISS. On November 17, Shepherd enjoyed a few casual QSOs with earthbound hams.
ARISS spokesman Will Marchant, KC6ROL, says the crew has used Amateur Radio for personal contacts with family members but that crew members have been too pressed for time to engage in casual contacts. In addition, the shuttle Endeavour launched November 30 is carrying huge solar arrays to the ISS.
Marchant said he hopes ARISS can ramp up the level of school and casual contacts after the first of the year. A tentative schedule of school contacts is pending. The topic of future contacts between ISS crew members and students is on the agenda for this weekend's meeting.
The ARISS delegates will look at how school contacts can be smoothly integrated into the ISS crew schedules and attempt to come up with an equitable system for the international partners to select schools for ARISS QSOs.
ARISS delegates also will be looking ahead to the next phase of Amateur Radio hardware on the ISS, which will include more power and wider capabilities. Packet operation will be tested soon.
More information about ARISS and SAREX is at http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov/ . NNNN /EX
* Origin: ---=== RA9LO Station at MO27SC ===--- (2:5077/39) _______________________________________________________________
Alexander
RZ6HGG Stavropol E-mail:rz6hgg@skiftel.ru FidoNet: 2:5064/11.30 6 декабря 2000 г. 17:51:37
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