An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Euro Space Center, Air and Space Day, Transinne, Belgium on 12 July. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 14:08 UTC.
The contact will be a telebridge between NA1SS and WH6PN.The contact is expected to be conducted in English (or Dutch).

As in previous years, on Sunday 12th July 2009 the Euro Space Center is organising the Air and Space Day.
During this extraordinary day, over 1000 people come and visit the center. The purpose of this event is to promote space and make the general public more aware of various space related subjects.

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Technopolis, Mechelen, Antwerpen, Belgium on 11 July. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 12:35 UTC.
The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 37 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between NA1SS and LU8YY. The contact should be audible over the lower portion of South America. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English (or Dutch).

Technopolis is a permanent platform for science and technology in Mechelen, Flanders, Belgium. The mission of Technopolis® is to bring science and technology to the people. For this purpose Technopolis® offers permanent and temporary exhibitions, organises workshops, school activities and other outreach activities for 4 to 99 years old : a Science Week and Science Festival, an annual exhibition at the Royal Palace in Brussels and many activities for a variety of organisations (governmental, private and educational). Technopolis® is also involved in a broad range of European projects to promote science and technology to a broad audience.

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Mugegawa Junior High School, Seki, Gifu, Japan on 11 July. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 10:15 UTC.
The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 53 seconds.

The contact will be direct between NA1SS and 8J2ISS. The contact should be audible over areas within the ISS path. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.

This ARISS school contact will involve all 65 third grade students at the school. The students have studied intently about space and relating physics in conjunction with the Gifu University in preparation for this contact. JAXA has also been very instrumental in helping to ensure the students are well prepared for this event.

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-189.01
SuitSat-2 Transforms Into a Satellite

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 189.01
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
July 8, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-189.01

Due to storage considerations on the International Space Station, the two surplus Orlan space suits in storage on the International Space Station were discarded via the Progress Cargo Vessel. One of these suits was to be used to house the electronics for the upcoming SuitSat-2 mission where the batteries were to be mounted inside the suit, solar panels attached to the extremities with the electronics, video cameras and antenna mounted on the helmet by the ISS crew prior to deployment during an EVA.

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:36:41 AM CDT

The countdown to liftoff of space shuttle Endeavour on its STS-127 mission will officially begin tonight at 10 p.m. EDT when clocks begin ticking backward from T-43 hours.

Endeavour's seven astronauts arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday afternoon and are making their final preparations for launch, scheduled for July 11 at 7:39 p.m.

"At this point, I'm happy to report we are ready to proceed with the launch countdown," NASA Test Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said Wednesday morning during a countdown status briefing at Kennedy. "We're ready to (fuel) this vehicle on Saturday morning and proceed with our launch on Saturday evening."