ARISS contact planned with school in Santa Clara, CA – Downlink signals audible over Europe Saturday 13 October 2012

Saturday October 13, 2012 at 18:57:50 UTC, which is 20.57.50 CEST, an ARISS contact is planned with Pacificon – ARRL Pacific Division Conference, Santa Clara, CA.

This will be a telebridge contact operated by IK1SLD, located in Northern Italy. Downlink signals will be audible over Europe on 145.800MHz FM.

The contact will probably also be broadcast on EchoLink AMSAT (node 101 377) and JK1ZRW (node 277 208) Conference servers, as well as on IRLP Discovery Reflector 9010.

PACIFICON 2012, a premiere wireless event, will be held October 12, 13, and 14, 2012 and will host the 2012 ARRL National Convention and Exposition. Over 2,500 amateur radio enthusiasts are expected to attend.

The 2012 PACIFICON Youth program includes a “Youth Lounge” and forums throughout the convention weekend; the Youth program is positioned in the middle of the exhibit hall and provides STEM educational goals which include hands on radio operation, electronics kit building and soldering classes, Ohm’s Law, orbital mathematics, CubeSat satellite design, and popular radio transmitter T-Hunts.

A scheduled ARISS radio contact and a presentation by NASA astronaut, Dr. Lee M. Morin KF5DDB, will highlight the Youth Lounge activities. Free admission is provided to Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, Brownie, Cub Scouts, Explorer Scouts, 4-H members, and to all youth. The Youth Forum will include young Amateur radio enthusiasts Andrea Hartlege KG4IUM, former ARRL South Eastern Division Vice Director and Katie Stensrud K7KTI, a young ham from Nevada, and many amateur radio educational resources from the ARRL & AMSAT. Pacificon 2012 will operate the convention FCC Special Event Station W6P, the ARRL’s W1AW/6, additional stations will be operated remotely from the convention site as well as two fully automated satellite earth stations.

PACIFICON 2012 will offer over 120 educational forums and programs, including a forum hosted by AMSAT on Amateur Satellite Communications, approximately sixteen indoor on-the-air exhibits, and eight outdoor on-the-air exhibits will be hosted.

Students will ask as many of following questions as time allows.

1. Mary (9): What is the space weather forecast for the ISS today?

2. Emily (19): How come there is not a section of the ISS that spins and provides artificial gravity to help the astronauts stay healthy, and have a somewhat normal existence – like in the movies?

3. Katie (12): How can amateur radio be improved on the ISS?

4. Devin (11): How do you sleep in space? Do you have beds?

5. Maxton (8): Do you ever get to talk to your family from space? If so, how?

6. Olivia (9): Can you see Venus, Mars, Jupiter or Saturn from where you are in space?

7. Noah (5): How do you get from the space shuttle into the Space Station, and how do you get from the Space Station into the space shuttle?

8. Annika (10): Of all your everyday things to do at home, what is the hardest to do in space?

9. Andres (11): How does the lack of gravity effect your muscular structure in space?

10. Cameron: How did your face handle take off? Did it flap in the wind?

11. Niccolo (8): What is the most memorable view of Earth you have seen from space?

12. Aliya (9): How long can someone live on the space station?

13. Emily (12): How is being in space different than you thought it would be?

14. Ben (8): What are the 3 most important things for someone to do or learn before they apply to be an astronaut?

15. Liam (6): How far away are you and how long will it take you to get back home?

16. Eli (5): Can you and do you eat ice cream in outer space?

Gaston Bertels, ON4WF

ARISS Chairman