[img]http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/160328main_iss020e041401_small.jpg[/img] Image above: The interior of the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle, pictured shortly after the hatch was opened, is loaded with cargo. Credit: NASA The Expedition 20 crew is wrapping up work with the external pallet of the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV). On Wednesday, the external pallet was removed from the hull of the HTV and attached to the Kibo lab's Exposed Facility for the transfer of science experiments. After the transfer was complete, the external pallet was installed back in the HTV's hull on Friday. The station's crew members used the Canadarm2 in conjunction with the Kibo's robotic arm for the pallet activities.

Topics in this report:
1. Upcoming School Contacts
2. ARISS Contact Between De Winne and Vrij Technisch Instituut Sint-Lucas
3. Barratt and HMS Beagle Project Connect via ARISS
4. ARISS Contact with Cedarview Middle School
5. Garfield Elementary, WHEELS and ARISS Team up to Talk about Space
6. Thirsk Speaks with Japanese Students via ARISS Contact
7. ISS SSTV Active
8. Astronaut Training Status
9. ARRL QST Covers ARISS News
10. ARRL Article on Dayton Hamvention
11. ARISS News on Amateur Radio Newsline
12. AMSAT Symposium, ARISS Ops Meeting

1. Upcoming School Contacts
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for R. T. Alderman in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on Monday, September 28 at 20:43 UTC. Educators have developed a series of assignments to reflect both the Alberta curricula and the radio contact experience. Journal entries, computer research projects, skits, and other writing assignments will be required class work in the weeks following the contact. Some teachers are also considering having students design a mural to commemorate this occasion as a companion to the already existing Robert Thirsk mural in one of the stairwells.

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at R T Alderman, Calgary, AB, Canada on 28 Sep. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 20:43 UTC.

The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds.

The contact will be direct between NA1SS and VE6JBJ. The contact should be audible over portions of western Canada. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.

In preparation for the radio contact with the international space station, teachers at R.T. Alderman Middle School have been speaking with their students about what constitutes a "powerful question". Students have been asked to generate questions that are both thought-provoking and open-ended. Students then submit their questions for the competition to see who will be selected for the contact.

As space shuttle Discovery is checked out and processed following the STS-128 mission, NASA is preparing shuttle Atlantis for its next flight to the International Space Station.

The STS-129 mission will be commanded by Charlie Hobaugh and piloted by Barry Wilmore. Mission Specialists are Robert Satcher, Mike Foreman, Randy Bresnik and Leland Melvin. Wilmore, Satcher and Bresnik will be making their first trips to space.

Atlantis and its crew will deliver parts to the space station, including a spare gyroscope. The mission will feature three spacewalks.

Atlantis also will return station crew member Nicole Stott to Earth, as this is slated to be the final space shuttle crew rotation flight.

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Houya Elementary School, Nishitokyo, Japan on 26 Sep. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 09:28 UTC.
The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds.

The contact will be direct between NA1SS and 8J1HOYA. The contact should be audible over Japan. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.

Houya elementary school is established in 1874 and the number of children is 387 persons. We have no own amateur radio club station. But we will enhance an experimental educations, and we will plan to teach children who are interested in the ISS about the purpose of the ISS.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA is targeting Tuesday, Oct. 27, for the flight test of the Ares I-X rocket, pending successful testing and data verification. Senior managers made the decision after a meeting Monday at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

The Oct. 27 target date has been confirmed with the Air Force's Eastern Range. The launch window will extend from 8 a.m. to noon EDT. There is another launch opportunity on Oct. 28. The date will be finalized at a Flight Test Readiness Review scheduled for Oct. 23 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Technicians at Kennedy have completed the stacking, or assembly, of the rocket on a mobile launch platform. This week, Ares I-X team members are conducting a launch countdown simulation and conducting final checks of the rocket's systems. The checks will begin with the launch abort system simulator atop the rocket and continue down to its aft skirt. The rocket is targeted to roll out to Kennedy's Launch Pad 39B on Oct. 19.

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at WHEELS Idaho Historical Museum (Garfield Elementary), Boise, Idaho on 24 Sep. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 20:34 UTC.
The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between NA1SS and W6SRJ. The contact should be audible over the west coast of the U.S. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.

The staff and students of Garfield Elementary, in Boise, Idaho, are excited about having the opportunity to communicate with the International Space Station. All grades are involved, and the event has motivated students' interest in math and science. Teachers have been using the event to focus on curriculum objectives.

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Cedarview Middle School, Ottawa, ON, Canada on 24 Sep. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 19:07 UTC.
The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds.

The contact will be direct between NA1SS and VE3TBD. The contact should be audible over parts of eastern Canada and the U.S. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.

Cedarview has a dynamic, energetic staff who are committed to providing quality educational experiences to all students. We present our students with a range of opportunities to extend their interests, talents, skills and leadership qualities.

The six Expedition 20 crew members aboard the International Space Station tackled a busy workload Tuesday as they installed a recently delivered carbon dioxide removal system for testing and prepared for upcoming robotic arm activities.

Flight Engineers Nicole Stott and Frank De Winne positioned the Japanese robotic arm for Wednesday's transfer of an experiments pallet from the newly-arrived H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) to the Exposed Facility of the Kibo module. Beginning about 5:40 a.m. EDT, the crew will use the Canadarm2 robotic arm to grapple and remove the pallet from the unpressurized cargo section of the HTV. Canadarm2 will hand off the pallet to the Japanese robotic arm, which will attach the pallet to the exposed facility and remove the individual experiments from the pallet and install them. The empty pallet will be transferred back to the HTV for disposal when the cargo craft is deorbited in late October or early November.

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at HMS Beagle Project, Brazil on 22 Sep. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 18:17 UTC.
The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between NA1SS and K6DUE. The contact should be audible over the east coast of the U.S. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.

The HMS Beagle Project (which aims to sail a rebuilt HMS Beagle 'round the world in Darwin's wake) and NASA have signed an International Space Act Agreement to unite ISS astronaut photography with ocean surface sampling from the new Beagle. The new Beagle is not yet built but on September 20-23, we will be carrying out a workshop and feasibility study in Paraty, Brazil. The event includes short voyages aboard tall ship Tocorime to coincide with ISS passes on the 20th, 22nd and 24th, a scientific workshop exploring opportunities for modern science under sail, and an educational and media event on the 22nd which will connect 60 children from local Paraty schools via ham radio to Mike Barratt and/or other astronauts aboard the ISS. We think this is the first time that children from Brazilian public schools (as opposed to private international schools in Brazil) will have been connected with the ISS. The children will be connected from a pavilion in Paraty, within sight of the Tocorime at anchor.