- October 4 - 8: An ARISS Slow Scan TV (SSTV) event took place commemorating amateur radio satellites and the people who support them. The SSTV session began on the anniversary of the Sputnik launch on October 4, 1957; images featured this anniversary. ARISS SSTV is very popular and this event ran for 2 days, was paused for the docking of the Cygnus vehicle, then downlinking resumed and continued through October 8. Cosmonauts downlinked images for ham operators and the public to receive and post at the online ARISS SSTV Gallery at https://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/. After posting images, they could request a special award for their successful image reception. At this time, the number of participants has not been tallied.
- October 7: Students spoke with Chris Cassidy during the ARISS contact at McConnell Middle School in Loganville, GA. For this ARISS Multi-Point Telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio, he answered 14 questions from students--some at home but most social-distanced at school. The audience on site included 2,364 students, 196 teachers and staff, and a news reporter. The ARISS YouTube livestream was watched by 522 people and there were 3.6K Playbacks. The lead teacher reported that “cluster schools” (1 high school, 3 elementary schools) were tuned in, also. In the 48 hours afterwards, 3,674 more people watched the YouTube recording; the URL of this outstanding ARISS contact is: https://t.co/5k634WiVkE?amp=1. Students had enjoyed a large amount of space and communications lessons including researching ISS payloads, working with ISS Above, connecting electrical components together to make circuits, building electronic kits and ham antennas, and displaying several of the latter things at their booth at a large technical conference. The school’s McConnell Amateur Radio Club captured student interest and some took part in ham license classes and earned their licenses. Two who gave their names and call signs at the beginning of their questions to Cassidy were singled out when he gave his special congratulations to them on becoming licensed. The ARISS Educational Ambassador wrote, “A few students interviewing Chris were home but most were at school, masked and social distanced. I stood at the microphone table signaling students when to approach the mic and pull face masks down before asking their questions. This gave me a very special view—I may have been the only person to get to see the great ear-to-ear full-face smile that emerged on each student's face after he/she asked their question and heard Chris respond. As each one stepped away and pulled up the mask, the huge smile extended to their eyes.”
- October 10: After taking part in a 2018 ARISS contact in middle school and being in classes taught by ARISS educator Martha Muir, a young lady now in high school continues to be interested in STEM. The high schooler presented a video poster session at the 17th Annual AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics) Orange County Aerospace Systems and Technology Conference (ASAT), this year held on Zoom. The young lady’s topic was “ARISS From the Student Point of View." Attendees at the student presentations (32 students, 6 educators) topped all other audience numbers except for the keynote morning speech. Presentations will be archived for many others to view. This high school junior recently earned her amateur radio Technician License. She thinks she may major in Communications and minor in Psychology.
- October 7: ARISS supporter John Brier in Raleigh, NC shared an evening with a neighborhood young ISS fan. John set up his ham station outside to demonstrate ARISS Slow Scan TV (SSTV) and ARISS APRS packet radio, including how to perfectly adjust audio levels to download good SSTV images. When the ISS orbited overhead, they worked together and were rewarded, downloading very clear images. John switched his ham radio to the ARISS packet system frequency and he and the boy contacted a ham in Virginia. John made this a special evening his very young space buddy will never forget.
- October 7: Frank Bauer gave a talk about ARISS at a Zoom meeting of the Sterling Park (VA) Amateur Radio Club for 29 members and guests, including 2 teachers and ARRL Vice Director Mark Tharp in Washington state. Frank’s presentation covered ARISS’s current status, highlights of its 20 years of continuous operations, and some visions being developed into future realities.
- October 8: Nineteen participants tied into the online ARISS Proposal Webinar presented by ARISS leaders John Kludt and Kathy Lamont who shared information and answered questions for educators with an interest in submitting ARISS Education Proposals. The window to submit proposals opened recently. The webinar covered everything from how to submit a proposal to a timetable for deliverables for groups that will be selected. Participants included individuals from schools and education groups and also from a few ham radio organizations. The webinar was recorded and will be linked to the ariss.org website for the remainder of the proposal window, which closes November 24.
- October 9: Due to a conflict, an ARISS contact was postponed for the students involved with RO-SAT One projects in Piatra Neamt, Romania.
- October 9: An ARISS contact was held for students in Vladivostok, Russia with Anatoli Ivanishin supporting the event. No details have been received yet.
- October 1-12: The ARISS team continues to prepare a number of publicity items that will commemorate the 20 years of ARISS supporting continuous amateur radio operations on the ISS.
Upcoming Events
- October 14: Students from Ramona Lutheran Christian School in Ramona CA are scheduled for an ARISS contact with Chris Cassidy.
- October 17: A feature at the 2020 AMSAT Symposium will be a one-hour presentation on ARISS radio hardware, operations of ARISS’s new InterOperable Radio System on the ISS, and future hardware to use potentially on Gateway.
- October 22: Frank Bauer and ARISS educator Joanne Michael will give a presentation on ARISS at the virtual 2020 ISS R&D Conference.
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