Amateur Radio International Space Station (ARISS)

School Application Form 
for an organized radio contact with the International Space Station 

Introduction:

Congratulations on taking the first step toward a rewarding experience for your school. The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program requires that each school submit an application so that your school can be scheduled.  Please fill in the below requested data as best as possible. Be assured that the ARISS partners and ARISS School Committee will hold the data you supply in confidence. While data such as the home phone number of the school principal may seem private, past experience has shown that when the ARISS planners need to contact anyone from the school, the more names and phone numbers, the better. In the fast-paced world of ARISS, radio contact opportunities or NASA or ISS scheduling changes may occur with only a few days notice and the need to make contact with someone from the school becomes very important. It is anticipated that most of the radio contacts will be with the International Space Station; however, if a shuttle mission with ham radio on board is planned, then your contact may occur with the shuttle.

 The procedure is explained in the following rules.

Rules:

1.	Check if your amateur radio school station is sufficiently equipped to enable a successful contact (i.e., general technical level, transceiver + power, steerable antenna, tracking programs, etc.). Please take into account the expected level of deployment of the amateur radio equipment operated onboard ISS (e.g., in the beginning only weak signals can be expected).
 
2.	Carefully fill out the attached application form.  Please make sure to include the school's educational proposal.

The educational proposal should include answers to these questions: 
1) How will you: 
a) integrate this activity into the school curriculum and 
b) involve as many grade levels as you can, participating through essay 
contests, poster drawing, letter writing, and so on? 
2) How will you get as much media coverage as possible? 

For information about educational materials available from ISS partner space Agencies, please refer to links on the ARISS Frequently Asked Questions page.

Websites that may be of interest include:

http://www.arrl.org/sarex
http://www.arrl.org/ariss
http://www.amsat.org
http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov
http://spacelink.nasa.gov/index.html
http://ehb2.gsfc.nasa.gov/edcats/educator_guide/ 

3.	Your completely filled out application should be returned to the nearest coordinating ARISS region if your specific region is not listed.  E-mail is the preferred method of submitting an application.  Here are the email addresses:

ARISS-Canada and all other countries not covered:   ve2ka@rac.ca (Daniel Lamoureux VE2KA)
ARISS-Europe:  jh.hahn@gmx.net (J. Hahn, DL3LUM / PA1MUC)
ARISS-Japan and all Region 3 countries:  iaru-r3@jarl.or.jp (Keigo Komuro JA1KAB)
ARISS-Russia: n2ww@attbi.com  (Valerie Agabekov N2WW/UA6HZ)
ARISS-USA:  ARISS@arrl.org (The American Radio Relay League)

4.	A receipt will be sent to the applicant, confirming that the application form had been received. This receipt will point out if the application form was accepted for further submission or not.

5.	Communication with ARISS is to be done by e-mail to facilitate exchange of information.

6.	The application will be registered and put in a queue.

7.	Each ARISS region will coordinate contacts within that region.  If the application was sent to the wrong ARISS region, it will be forwarded to the appropriate one.

8.	When a slot has been assigned to a school, the responsible person of this school will be informed by ARISS immediately.

9.	The school station shall then be prepared for the contact (i.e. check the whole station, download the most recent Kepler elements, arrange for licensed operators, inform regional press, keep contact with the ARISS school coordinator). Please make sure that the station can be contacted by phone during the QSO! 

Two weeks before the contact the school shall submit to the school's mentor a short story describing the school (2 or 3 paragraphs) and how the preparations are proceeding.  The story shall also include the student names and their questions.

Twenty four hours before the contact the school shall submit to the school's mentor a fax or email indicating that the school is ready to proceed with the contact.

10.	When the contact has been made, ARISS expects to receive a report about this event within 2 weeks. The report will possibly be used for publication in a broader forum.

Within 1 week after the contact, the school shall submit the teacher's guide feedback form to NASA.  NASA will act as a clearing house and pass the information on to the responsible departments in the Space Agencies of the other ISS partners.  The form is available at the NASA website:

https://ehb2.gsfc.nasa.gov/edcats/user_ariss_report.html 

Disclaimer:  ARISS can not be held liable in case a scheduled radio contact is not performed.  All ARISS work is done by volunteers working in conjunction with the various space agencies and space operation constraints may force last minute cancellation.

Please enter your country code and city code as part of the telephone number for any voice, fax, or cellular phone.

1. Date of application: 

2. SCHOOL
   Name: 
   Address: 
   City: 
   State, Province, Territory, mail district:
   Zip or Postal Code: 
   Country: 
   Phone #:
   Fax #: 
   Email Address:
   School Website Address:
   Normal school hours:
   Brief description of the school and the amateur radio school club (if there 
   is one):

3. Principal
   Name:
   School phone #:
   School Fax #:
   School email address:
   Pager #:
   Home phone #
   Home Fax #:
   Cellular phone #:
   Home email address:
   Home address:
   Home City:
   Home State, Province, Territory, mail district:
   Home Zip or Postal Code:
   Home Country:
   
4. Coordinating Teacher:
   Name:
   Grade Level/Subject Taught:
   School phone #:
   School Fax #:
   School email address:
   Pager #:
   Home phone #:
   Home Fax #:
   Cellular phone #:
   Home email address:
   Home address:
   Home City:
   Home State, Province, Territory, mail district:
   Home Zip or Postal Code:
   Home Country:

5. Has the school previously been selected for a shuttle, Mir, or ISS contact?:
 (YES or NO):    If YES, which mission?  STS:   or Astronaut on Mir or ISS:
                 Date of contact:

   Did the school have a complete contact: If No, please explain why not:

6. RADIO CONTACT COORDINATOR 
(To be filled out by an Amateur Radio operator) 
   Name: 
   Call Sign: 
   Home address: 
   Home City: 
   Home State, Province, Territory, mail district:
   Home Zip or Postal Code: 
   Home Country: 
 
   Home Phone #: 
   Pager #:
   Cellular phone #:
   Home Fax #: 
   Home email Address: 
   Work Phone #:
   Work Fax #:
   Work email address:
   Experienced With Satellite Operations? (YES or NO): 

DATA ABOUT SITE OF RADIO CONTACT

7. Site of Radio Contact location information:
   Latitude [Use decimal format] (South is negative): 
   Longitude [Use decimal format] (West is negative): 
   Elevation [Use meters above mean sea-level]: 
   Address:
   City:
   State, Province, Territory, mail district:
   Country:

8. Radio Coordinator During Contact:
   Name: 
   Call Sign: 
   Home address: 
   Home City: 
   Home State, Province, Territory, mail district:
   Home Zip or Postal Code: 
   Home Country: 
 Home Phone #: 
   Pager #:
   Cellular phone #:
   Home Fax #: 
   Home email Address: 
   Work Phone #:
   Work Fax #:
   Work email address:
   Experienced With Satellite Operations? (YES or NO): 

9. Call Sign at contact site: 

10. Contact site Phone #: 

11. Contact site cellular phone #:

12. Contact site Fax #: 

13. Hours before or after UTC:
Contact site Time Zone: 
Does your area go to Daylight Savings Time?  (YES or NO):

14. Language requested: English is the language that is normally used on ISS.  It is possible that other languages may be used. If another language is requested, please indicate the desired language: 

15. Are Weekends, Holidays or Nights A Problem For Your Contact?: (YES/NO) 
    To aid the contact planners, please provide dates for major holidays, school
    year, or other known problem dates.  As it might be some time before your
    school is selected and the actual dates may change please be as descriptive
    as possible, i.e. school starts the third week of August, holiday is the
    fourth Thursday of the month, etc.

16. ASSISTING LOCAL AMATEUR RADIO CLUB
(To be filled out by the Amateur Radio club) 
    Name Of Amateur Radio Club: 
    Club Contact Person: 
    Contact Person's Call Sign: 
    Contact Person's home phone #:
    Contact Person's work phone #:
    Contact Person's pager #:
    Contact Person's email address:
    Is the club experienced With Satellite Operations? (YES or NO):
    National amateur radio organization (if club is a affiliated with  a national
    organization such as the ARRL):

17. STATION AND EQUIPMENT DATA
(To be used during the ARISS Amateur Radio contact) 
It is suggested that 2 complete radio stations be set up.  It is also suggested that redundant power sources be provided, i.e. separate ac circuits, battery back-up, or Uninterruptible power supply.

Minimum station requirements for the primary station (Radio Station #1) are: 
Output power at least 75 watts, Receive pre-amp, OSCAR style circular polarized beam antenna, azimuth/elevation rotor control.

Minimum station requirements for the secondary station (Radio Station #2) are:
Output power at least 75 watts, Receive pre-amp, Vertical antenna.

Radio Station #1
   Transceiver To Be Used (Manufacturer/Model): 
   Does it have Memories? (YES or NO):    If yes, number of memories: 
   If yes, is the memory considered tunable like a VFO?
   Output Power (Watts): 
   Frequency Range (MHz): 
   Frequency steps:
   Station Equipped With an RX Preamplifier? (YES or NO): 
   If YES, Manufacturer and Model of Preamplifier: 
   Station Equipped with a TX Amplifier? (YES or NO): 
   If YES, Manufacturer and Model of Amplifier:
   If YES, Maximum Output Power of TX Amplifier (Watts): 
   Is the Radio capable of a Non-Standard Split? (YES or NO): 
   Antenna Type (VERTICAL, SATELLITE (AZ/EL?), OTHER) [specify]: 
   If commercially built, manufacturer and model:
   Antenna Gain (dbd or dbi): 
   Number of Elements: 
   Polarization (HORIZONTAL, CIRCULAR, or VERTICAL) 
   Antenna Equipped With a Rotator? (NONE, AZIMUTH ONLY, or AZ/EL): 
   Satellite Tracking Program Available? (YES or NO): 
   If YES, Name of Tracking Program: 
   Do you have Automatic Antenna Control? (YES or NO): 
   VHF Packet Capability? (YES or NO): 
   VHF SSTV Capability? (YES or NO): 
   Do you have phone patch capabilities?:
   SWR/Power Output meter to be used (Manufacturer/Model):
   Coax cable to be used:

Radio Station #2
   Transceiver To Be Used (Make/Model): 
   Does it have Memories? (YES or NO):    If yes, number of memories:
   If yes, is the memory considered tunable like a VFO
   Output Power (Watts): 
   Frequency Range (MHz): 
   Frequency steps:
   Station Equipped With an RX Preamplifier? (YES or NO): 
   If YES, Manufacturer and Model Of Preamplifier: 
   Station Equipped with a TX Amplifier? (YES or NO): 
   If YES, Maximum Output Power of TX Amplifier (Watts): 
   Is The Radio Capable of a Non-Standard Split? (YES or NO): 
   Antenna Type (VERTICAL, SATELLITE (AZ/EL?), OTHER) [specify]: 
   If commercially built, manufacturer and model:
   Antenna Gain (dbd or dbi): 
   Number of Elements: 
   Polarization (HORIZONTAL, CIRCULAR, or VERTICAL) 
   Antenna Equipped With a Rotator? (NONE, AZIMUTH ONLY, or AZ/EL): 
   Satellite Tracking Program Available? (YES or NO): 
   If YES, Name of Tracking Program: 
   Do you have Automatic Antenna Control? (YES or NO): 
   VHF Packet Capability? (YES or NO): 
   VHF SSTV Capability? (YES or NO): 
   Do you have phone patch capabilities?:
   SWR/Power Output meter to be used (Manufacturer/Model):
   Coax cable to be used:

18. Please note any antenna obscuration data (modify to meet location's specific needs):
Azimuth degrees        Elevation degrees
0 (North)
45
90  (East)
135
180 (South)
225
270 (West)
315
360 (North)

For example:
Azimuth degrees        Elevation degrees
0 to 50                 0
50 to 90                15
90 to 100               30
100 to 140              5
140 to 280              10
280 to 360              5

19. Do you plan to do a live re-transmission or webcast?  If a live re-transmission, how and on what frequency and mode?  If a webcast, what is the website address?

20.  Have you checked with your national amateur radio regulatory authority to determine if the non-licensed participating persons (i.e. students) are allowed to exchange messages (third party) with the astronauts on board ISS by means of your amateur radio station?  To aid the planners, please indicate which countries have agreements with your country.  If you are unsure on how to answer this question, please check with the amateur radio team that will be assisting the school.

21. Attach the school's educational proposal to this application before submitting.

The educational proposal should include answers to these questions: 
1) How will you: 
a) integrate this activity into the school curriculum and 
b) involve as many grade levels as you can, participating through essay 
contests, poster drawing, letter writing, and so on? 
2) How will you get as much media coverage as possible? 

ARISSapp15.rtf 
Prepared by AJ9N, DL3LUM, 11 April 2003 19:00 UTC