The number of languages used on the International Space Station has recently increased. In addition to those spoken in the 15 countries that have had representatives aboard the space station, American Sign Language, or ASL, is now included. NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson has sent a message in ASL from the station to the deaf community.

In the video, Caldwell Dyson answered several questions about living and working aboard the station and how she became interested in sign language.

"I am truly grateful for this opportunity on behalf of the deaf community and the multitudes of students who will benefit from seeing their language spoken in space," Caldwell Dyson said. "It is my hope that this video will help inspire our next generation of scientists and explorers."

The members of the International Space Station's Expedition 24 crew shifted their sleep schedule Monday in preparation for their mission's first spacewalk, waking up at about 2:40 p.m. EDT.

Flight Engineers Fyodor Yurchikhin, a veteran of three spacewalks in 2007 during Expedition 15, and Mikhail Kornienko, a spacewalk rookie, will perform the six-hour spacewalk. The pair will exit the Pirs docking compartment and work outside the Zarya and Zvezda modules. The Pirs Docking Compartment hatch is slated to open at 11:45 p.m. to begin the excursion.

The pair will outfit the Rassvet module's Kurs automated rendezvous system, install cables and remove and replace a video camera. Kurs is a Russian radio telemetry system that allows automated dockings of unmanned spacecraft such as the Progress resupply vehicle. The new video camera will document the rendezvous and docking of future Automated Transfer Vehicles to the aft end of the Zvezda service module.

Topics in this report:
1. Upcoming School Contact
2. ARISS Contact with International Space University Students
3. ARRL Covers 2010 National Scout Jamboree
4. ARISS-Brazil Web Page Updated
5. Astronaut Training Status
6. Astronaut T. J. Creamer Participates in ISS Ham Debrief
7. ARISS International Team Meeting Held

1. Upcoming School Contact
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for the 2010 National Boy Scout Jamboree in Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia on Saturday, July 31 at 18:21 UTC. The jamboree is being planned for about 43,000 Scouts and leaders in 825 troops, plus some 5,000 staff members for support, program and headquarters services. The K2BSA Amateur Radio Demonstration Area is a hot spot of activity throughout the Jamboree. At past Jamborees, thousands of Scouts toured K2BSA. More than 300 earned their Radio Merit Badges and more than 100 new Technician licenses were earned. The club supporting this event is the K2BSA Amateur Radio Association.

The Expedition 24 crew members aboard the International Space Station focused on spacewalk preparations and maintenance activities Wednesday.

To prepare for a six-hour spacewalk set to begin at 11:45 p.m. EDT Monday, Flight Engineers Fyodor Yurchikhin and Mikhail Kornienko installed new batteries in the Russian Orlan spacesuits they will wear on their excursion. The spacewalkers will install Kurs automated rendezvous equipment on the exterior of the recently delivered Rassvet module to facilitate future dockings with Russian spacecraft. A dry run of the spacewalk will take place Friday when the cosmonauts will wear the spacesuits, practice their movements and test their mobility.

The altitude of the International Space Station was raised early Friday morning after the docked Progress 38 vehicle fired its thrusters for nearly 18 minutes. The reboost places the station at an altitude to support the departure of the Expedition 24 crew in September and the arrival of the Expedition 25 crew in October.

The first Expedition 24 spacewalk will begin on Monday, July 26. Russian flight engineers Mikhail Kornienko and Fyodor Yurchikhin will exit the International Space Station's Pirs docking compartment and prepare the Rassvet module for automated spacecraft dockings. The cosmonauts will install a Kurs automated rendezvous system on Rassvet allowing unmanned Russian vehicles, such as Progress resupply craft, to dock at that port.

Topics in this report:
1. Upcoming School Contact
2. ARISS Contact with Girl Guides of Canada
3. MAI-75 Experiment Activated
4. Astronaut Training Status - Upcoming Simulation Contacts
5. ARRL Story on Upcoming CLC Contacts
6. ISS Ham Debrief Scheduled
7. ARISS - Camp Cavett Contact in the News
8. ARISS News on Amateur Radio Newsline

1. Upcoming School Contact
International Space University (ISU), located in Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France, has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Wednesday, July 21 at 15:36 UTC. The university provides interdisciplinary educational programs to students and space professionals in an international, intercultural environment. Over 130 students are enrolled in the ISU Space Studies Program through which they will learn the basics of satellite communications. They will also study human spaceflight and learn about the legal aspects of space exploration and international cooperation. The ARISS contact will be the featured activity of this program.

Made contact with Col Doug Wheelock at 2202 UTC on Sunday 18 July 2010. Signal was crystal clear from ISS. Stan White N2SW

This is from Newsline report #1718 www.arnewsline.org
Listen to the MP3 audio file just after break 2 at 19 minutes into recording.

HAM RADIO IN SPACE: ISS RANDOM CONTACTS BACK

After a seemingly long period when the astronaut and cosmonaut hams on
board the International Space Station seemed only to be making pre-
planned contacts with schools, random contacts are back. For several
days last week, Colonel Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC, took to the air from the
orbital outpost to talk to hams around the globe. Here's a time
compressed sample as supplied to us by Scott Avery, WA6LIE:

Brazilian Space Agency AEB has produced two videos about the International Space Station. The videos were recorded by astronaut Marcos Pontes and are the first videos showing ARISS activities in Portuguese. See:

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/user/PY1KCF#p/a/u/1/vilmCC7RRQ0
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/user/PY1KCF#p/a/u/0/GJll0WZfYmg

After enjoying some time off during a light-duty weekend, the Expedition 24 crew of the International Space Station got back to work Monday, preparing for a series of upcoming spacewalks, conducting routine maintenance and working with science experiments.

Flight Engineers Mikhail Kornienko and Fyodor Yurchikhin reviewed procedures and the timeline for a spacewalk scheduled for July 26 that will outfit the recently installed Rassvet module with automated Kurs rendezvous and docking capability for approaching Russian vehicles.

Flight Engineer Doug Wheelock performed routine scrubbing on the cooling loops in the U.S. spacesuits that he and Flight Engineer Tracy Caldwell Dyson will wear during a spacewalk scheduled for August 5.