Dec 04

Indautxuko Eskola, Bilbao, Spain telebridge contact via ON4ISS with Suni Williams KD5PLB

A ARISS telebridge contact via Amateur Radio was scheduled for December 4, 2024 at 11:47 UTC with astronaut Suni Williams, amateur radio call sign KD5PLB. and students of Indautxuko Eskola, Bilbao, Spain.

Suni Williams KD5PLB operating the Ham Radio with callsign OR4ISS

Indautxuko School, founded in 1918, is a Pre-Primary and Primary Education Centre (2-12 years old) located in Bilbao, in an urban environment with 625 students and 91 educational professionals. It is a multilingual school (Basque – Spanish co-official language, English and Spanish). The school is hosting this ARISS contact for their students in 5th and 6th grade (10-12 years old). Members of the Asociación EuskoByte Elkartea amateur radio club (EA2RKE) are supporting the school for this event.

Indautxuko School, founded in 1918, is a Pre-Primary and Primary Education Centre located in Bilbao.

The ARISS amateur radio ground station (telebridge station) for this contact is in Aartselaar, Belgium. The amateur radio volunteer team at the AMSAT Belgium club station with the call sign ON4ISS has established the connection with the ISS. The school in Bilbao was connected to the telebridge station by a telephone connection.

ON4ISS in action for an ARISS telebridge contact with Stefan ON6TI and Jan ON7UX as operators.

This ARISS contact was realized through collaboration with the Asociación EuskoByte Elkartea amateur radio club EA2RKE in Bilbao and with Marcelo IKØUSO as ARISS mentor and Stefan ON6TI as moderator.

Media source:
ARISS Proiektua – Proyecto ARISS INDAUTXUKO ESKOLA

Mar 27

St. John’s, NL, Canada, telebridge via ON4ISS

A ARISS telebridge contact via Amateur Radio was scheduled for March 27, 2024 at 16:25 UTC (1:55:27 pm NDT ad Newfoundland) with astronaut Loral O’Hara, amateur radio call sign KI5TOM. and students of St. John’s School Authority, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada.

Loral O’Hara KI5TOM operating the HAM station on board the ISS

Newfoundland (NL) Schools is an entity of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador which teaches English-speaking students in K to 12 public schools in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Currently NL Schools includes over 63,000 students, over 250 schools, and over 10,000 employees. This ARISS contact directly links to the school’s Science 9 curriculum as students complete a full unit on space, including classes specific to the ISS. There are 4 schools (and associated Science 9 classes) involved in this ARISS contact: Leary’s Brook Junior High, St. Paul’s Junior High, Mount Pearl Intermediate, and Amalgamated Academy.

The downlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHz and may be heard by listeners that are within the ISS-footprint (Europe) that also encompasses the telebridge station. The ARISS amateur radio ground station (telebridge station) for this contact is in Aartselaar, Belgium use the callsign ON4ISS.

Feb 24

ARISS-I Face 2 Face 2024 meeting at KSC

The ARISS international face to face meeting 2024 took place at Kennedy Space Center. Participation in this F2F meeting is by invitation only of the ARISS-International Board. Stefan ON6TI (UBA) and Jan ON7UX (AMSAT Belgium) were represented for Belgium. In addition to the official F2F agenda on February 21 and 22, 2024, the 40th anniversary of ‘Positive Impact of Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight’ will be celebrated on February 23 and 24, 2024.

The ARISS-I delegation at the entrance to ISSPF at Kennedy Space Center.

A first agenda part of the ARISS-I F2F meeting concerns the educational aspect associated with ARISS contacts in schools. Various educational projects are exchanged and the regional educational activities of ARISS ambassadors are discussed.

Stefan ON6TI demonstrates his MySat project at the ARISS-I F2F meeting at KSC

An important topic during the ARISS-I F2F meeting is the operational status of the various operational modes and technical projects that are being developed and will become possible in the future. Chris Thompson VE2TCP – G0KLA – AC2CZ demonstrated the remote control of the IORS radio in the Columbus module using developed software on a Rasberry Pi and his FT-817.

Chris Thompson VE2TCP – G0KLA – AC2CZ demonstrated the remote control of the IORS radio

With his demonstration, Chris was able to manage the ARISS ISS radio, such as mode switching, power reset and reset to factory configuration. He also demonstrated uploading of SSTV images and programmed transmission of those SSTV images.

Set up of ARISS IORS radio like in the Columbus for demonstration.

During the subsequent part with the celebration of ‘Positive Impact of Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight’, memories and experiences were extensively exchanged. In this way, everyone is a small link in worldly events between students, radio amateurs and astronauts. Sharing everyone’s experience was a highlight of the festivities.

Claudio IK1SLD, Satosh 7M3TJZ, Jan ON7UX, Ciaran M0XTD at KSC

Media Source:
FB: Astronaut Owen Garriott (W5LFL) gives us a look at the amateur radio gear he used on STS-9

Oct 11

Multi-point ARISS contact via Belgian Defence (KSOO), Belgium, direct via ON4BAF

A direct contact via Amateur Radio scheduled for October 10, 2023 at 13:36 CEST (Belgium) allowing students to ask their questions of Astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, KI5WSL was a successful.

The Royal School for Non-Commissioned Officers (KSOO/ERSO), situated in Sint-Truiden, in the east of Belgium, is Belgium’s main military training establishment for non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and
serves as a military training institution dedicated to educating and training NCOs within the Belgian
Armed Forces. IEPS of Colfontaine is located about 50 miles west of Sint-Truiden. IEPS is a lifelong
learning school for students ages 15 and older and provides training courses in the fields of mining,
beauty care, the hotel industry, IT, construction, industrial design and HVAC technology.
KSOO/ERSO is providing ham radio equipment for a direct ARISS contact using their radio club’s
callsign ON4BAF. Members of the radio club of the Union of Belgian Radioamateurs (UBA), represented by its local section RST Radio Section of the city of Sint-Truiden will coordinate this contact while also establishing a telebridge with students at IEPS of Colfontaine.

The amateur radio ground station for this contact is near Sint-Truiden, Belgium. Amateur radio operators using call sign ON4BAF operate the ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection and provide a telebridge contact with students at IEPS of Colfontaine, Belgium.

Jun 03

General Assembly 2023

Annual General Assembly

The members of AMSAT Belgium, non-profit association, are invited to attend the annual general meeting.

The annual general assembly will take place on Monday, June 19, 2023 at 20:00.
Radio Club Leuven – Diestsevest 39 at Leuven. (The meeting room is located in the basement)

Agenda general assembly :
1. New members and outgoing members.
2. Financial report 2022
3. Discharge to the board of directors.
4. Approval of the 2023 budget.

Persons who are in order with their membership contribution are entitled to vote.
After the closing of the general meeting there is an opportunity to exchange ideas informally.

Correspondence about this extraordinary general meeting can be sent by email to jan.poppeliers@online.be

May 26

The Children’s Inn at NIH Bethesda, Maryland, telebridge contact via ON4ISS

The Children’s Inn at NIH (National Institutes of Health), Bethesda, Maryland, USA

There was a telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask their questions of Astronaut John Shoffner, amateur radio call sign KO4MJC. Shoffner is a STEM advocate, business pioneer, and life-long space enthusiast, John Shoffner will serve as pilot for Axiom Space’s Ax-2 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on the SpaceX Dragon. Shoffner currently lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, and is honored to have this opportunity to not only achieve one of his greatest life’s dreams but also to use the Ax-2 mission to ignite a passion for STEM education in teachers and students worldwide to each pursue their ambitions.

The ARISS radio contact was scheduled for May 26, 2023 at 17:31 UTC. The ARISS amateur radio ground station (telebridge station) for this contact is in Aartselaar, Belgium and use the callsign ON4ISS.

Apr 07

Collège Saint-Anatoile, Salins-Les-Bains, France, telebridge contact via ON4ISS

An ARISS telebridge contact via Amateur Radio, performed with students of Collège Saint-Anatoile, Salins-Les-Bains, France and Astronaut Steve Bowen KI5BKB on Friday April 7, 2023 at 14:27 UTC with OR4ISS and ARISS telebridge ground station ON4ISS (Aartselaar, Belgium) was successful.

Saint Anatoile secondary school is a French private catholic school located in a rural area in the department of Jura (258,000 population), Burgundy, Franche Comté region. In conjunction with hosting this ARISS contact, the school has developed a 2-year “ARISS contact” project to provide students a real opportunity to discover and understand an environment that is unknown to most of them. The objectives of the project are to deepen the scientific and linguistic knowledge of the students through workshops, and various STEM projects incorporated in their curriculum.

The ARISS amateur radio ground station (telebridge station) for this contact is in Aartselaar, Belgium. The amateur radio volunteer team at the ground station will use the callsign ON4ISS, to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

Media source:
Youtube: Contact ARISS – Collège Saint-Anatoile
ARISS France – Francophone

Mar 23

Lana’i H&E School, HI, telebridge via ON4ISS

This telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio allowing students from Lāna’i High and Elementary School in Hawai to ask their questions of Astronaut Warren Hoburg, amateur radio call sign KB3HTZ. The downlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHz and is be heard by listeners that are within the ISS-footprint over Europe. The ARISS amateur radio ground station (telebridge station) for this contact is in Aartselaar, Belgium. This amateur radio ground station use the callsign ON4ISS, to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

Great work, Danyel! Kids will probably remember this event for the rest of their lives!

This ARISS telebridge contact via Amateur Radio, performed with students of “Lāna’i High and Elementary School” on 23 March 2023 at 18:22 UTC with OR4ISS and ARISS telebridge ground station ON4ISS (Aartselaar, Belgium) was successful.

Media source:
Youtube: Space Chat–Lana’i High and Elementary School

Dec 21

Berufliche Schule Direktorat 1 Nürnberg, ARISS telebridge contact via ON4ISS

An ARISS telebridge contact via Amateur Radio, performed with students of “Berufliche Shule Directotaat 1 Nurenberg” on Wednesday 21 december 2021 at 08:21 UTC with OR4ISS and ARISS telebridge ground station ON4ISS (Aartselaar, Belgium) was successful. Matthias Maurer, amateur radio call sign KI5KFH, answered 12 questions. Stefan Vogl DL1STV coordinated the ARISS contact in the school in a safe CORONA way. Several classes and outside spectators followed the contact in the school through Teams. Due to COVID, there was no mass media on contact site.

Matthias Maurer
Matthias Maurer KI5KFH operates the Kenwood D710GA in the Columbus Module

The moderator Bertus Hüsken PE1KEH presented the contact. Stefan Dombrowski ON6TI had taken care of the preparation. The ARISS telebridge station ON4ISS (Amsat Belgium club station) was used by Jan Poppeliers ON7UX (lead ON4ISS operations). The amateur radio contact went smoothly for more than 11 minutes with a maximum elevation of 81°. The students thanked Matthias with a strong applause and Matthias Maurer KI5KFH acknowledged our “thank you” warmly.

Media source:
Youtube report M0IGW
Youtube report YO3RAK

Jun 08

AMSAT-Belgium – General Assembly 2021

annual general meeting 2021 – video conference – Tuesday, June 22, 2021 at 20:00 CEST

A photo of the AMSAT-ON annual meeting in 2012 – location UBA section LVN – Radio Club Leuven

The members of AMSAT Belgium, non-profit association, are invited to attend the annual general meeting. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, this meeting cannot take place in the usual cozy atmosphere. The meeting is organized with a video conference.

The video conference is accessible with a password that is sent to all members in an invitation. Everyone can still settle with their membership until the day before.

Agenda:
1. New members and outgoing members.
2. Financial report 2020.
3. Discharge to the board of directors.
4. Approval of the 2021 budget.

Persons who are in order with their membership contribution are entitled to vote. After the closing of the general meeting there is an opportunity to exchange ideas informally.

Correspondence about this general meeting can be sent by email to jan.poppeliers at online.be

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