Tim Peake KG5BVI preparing for his spacewalk in January

After the original competition to find schools that could demonstrate a commitment to Space, STEM and outreach was launched by ARISS in the UK and the UK Space Agency, we announced that ten schools had been shortlisted but that not all of those school would have an opportunity to talk to Tim Peake on the ISS.  In fact Tim himself announced at the UK Space Conference in July 2015 that there would be at least three such contacts and that he was hopeful of more.

The ARISS UK team, working with the ARISS International community, are now pleased to announce that after a number of discussions, all ten schools selected for the UK shortlist have now been scheduled. The proposed scheduled is as follows:-

Jan 8 at 0847 GMT : Sandringham School GB1SAN, St. Albans, Herts
Feb 11 at 1811 GMT : Royal Masonic School for Girls GB1RMS, Rickmansworth, Herts
Feb 19 at 1420 GMT : Oasis Academy Brightstowe GB1OAB, Bristol
Feb 26 at 1440 GMT : City Norwich School GB2CNS, Norwich
Mar 5 at 1053 GMT : Powys Combined Schools GB4PCS, Powys, Wales
Apr 18 at 1456 GMT (3:56 pm BST) : St Richards Catholic College GB4SRC, Bexhill on Sea
Apr 23 at 1210 GMT (1:10 pm BST) : Wellesley House School GB1WHS, Broadstairs,  Kent
Apr 25 at 1202 GMT (1:02 pm BST) : The Derby High School GB1DHS, Bury Lancashire
May 5 at 0808 GMT (9:08 am BST) : Ashfield Primary School GB1APS, Otley, West Yorkshire
May 9 at 0926 GMT (10:26 am BST) : The Kings School GB1OSM, Ottery St Mary, Devon

These dates correspond to the predicted orbits of the International Space Station visible during the school day (typically 08:00 – 18:00hrs) and when it is orbiting over the UK.  A significant amount of planning remains to be carried out to turn these proposals into confirmed events – Tim’s on-orbit work schedule also has to be such that he is able to carry out the contact at the same time as the ISS is orbiting over the UK and the schools are available to make the call.  Not a simple task!

We will update the ARISS Principia site with more information as it becomes available so make sure you keep checking there, on Twitter (@m0xtd) or on the UK Space Agency website.

73s

Ciaran – M0XTD
ARISS Operations Lead in the UK

ARISS Principia site https://principia.ariss.org/

July 2015 – School shortlist announced https://amsat-uk.org/2015/07/14/school-shortlist-tim-peake-iss/

Video of Tim Peake ham radio contact with Sandringham School on January 8, 2016
https://amsat-uk.org/2016/01/09/video-tim-peake-sandringham/

Listening to the ISS on a handheld radio https://amsat-uk.org/2016/01/10/listening-iss-on-handheld/

Get press publicity by receiving ISS school contacts
https://amsat-uk.org/2016/03/10/press-publicity-receiving-iss/

What is Amateur Radio? http://www.essexham.co.uk/what-is-amateur-radio

Find an amateur radio training course near you https://thersgb.org/services/coursefinder/

A free booklet is available aimed at introducing newcomers to the hobby that can also be used as a handy reference while getting started, see
http://rsgb.org/main/get-started-in-amateur-radio/alex-discovers-amateur-radio-2/