Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact between an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and Youth Members of the Maitland Air Cadet Squadron located in Goderich, Ontario.
The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for December 16, 2022 at 12:25 pm EST (Goderich) (17:25 UTC, or 13:25 AST)
Note: Amateurs tuned to 145.800 may hear the ISS side of transmissions during the orbital pass over the Maritimes around the start of this event (within range of Maritimes around 13:30 AST on Dec 16, and again around 15:07 AST.)
Here is a link to a YouTube web stream of the entire event (all transmissions)
ARISS conducts 60-80 of these special Amateur Radio contacts each year between students around the globe and crew members with Amateur Radio licenses aboard the ISS.
The Maitland Air Cadet Association supports the activities of the local air cadet squadron and provides enhanced support to the Air Cadet squadron. Maitland Air Cadet Squadron is a joint effort by the Department of National Defence, the Air Cadet League of Canada and the Royal Canadian Legion branch 109 in Goderich, Ontario. The aims of the Air Cadet program are: to develop in youth the attributes of good citizenship and leadership; to promote physical fitness; to stimulate an interest in the air element of Canadian Forces. Educational activities in preparation for this ARISS contact involves cadets designing/building VHF antennas, tracking the ISS and decoding ISS-APRS messages. Basic Qualification Amateur Radio courses for all cadet levels are being offered, giving them the opportunity to become a certified amateur radio operator.
This will be a direct contact via Amateur Radio allowing cadets to ask their questions of Astronaut Josh Cassada, KI5CRH. Local Covid-19 protocols are adhered to as applicable for each ARISS contact. The downlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHZ and may be heard by listeners that are within the ISS-footprint that also encompasses the relay ground station. (Expected to be around 5 minutes before and after 13:30 AST on December 16 in the Maritimes)
The Amateur Radio ground station for this contact is in Goderich, Ontario. Amateur Radio operators using call sign VA3SQN will operate the ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.