ARISS News Release No.21-19
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ARISS Contact is Scheduled with Students at
Oakwood School, Morgan Hill, California, USA
March 20, 2021—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact with astronauts. ARISS is the group that puts together special amateur radio contacts between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses on the International Space Station (ISS).
This will be a Multipoint Telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio between the ISS and students from Oakwood School, Morgan Hill, CA. Students will take turns asking their questions of ISS Astronaut Shannon Walker, amateur radio call sign KD5DXB, during the ARISS radio contact. English is the language that will be used during the contact. The downlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHz.
The ARISS team in Casale Monferrato, Italy will use call sign IK1SLD to serve as the ARISS relay amateur radio ground station. Each student asking a question on the ARISS radio will be conferenced in from home or social-distanced at school.
The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for March 22, 2021 at 11:27 am PDT (Morgan Hill, CA) (18:27 UTC, 2:27 pm EDT, 1:27 pm CDT, 12:27 pm MDT).
Oakwood School is a nonprofit, private, rural/suburban school (about 500 students, preschool – 12th grade) serving the community of Morgan Hill. The school’s STEM curriculum includes lab science in kindergarten and college prep courses for middle and high school students and extracurricular activities in STEM-related subjects (robotics and astronomy). During the past school year, in preparation for the ARISS contact, the school instituted a Year in Space Program for all grades. The class curriculum included new STEM courses that focused on space-related studies as well as enhancements to the existing STEM courses. This year-long program benefited from a number of volunteers from the space industry who provided class presentations and student activities in the fields of: radio communication (amateur radio and radio astronomy), astronomy, computer science, engineering, and robotics. High school students from the Astronomy Club will assist amateur radio operator volunteers in integration and testing of the ARISS contact’s backup radio station, and will help in setup of the ground station. In addition to incorporating amateur-related ideas into after-school STEM programs, the school’s amateur radio volunteer, who advises the school amateur radio and astronomy clubs, hosted ham radio testing for middle and elementary grade students.
View the live stream of this ARISS radio contact at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg8ni7Gq6Z0.
_______________________________
As time allows, students will ask these questions:
1. What is your favorite place on the ISS?
2. Are you currently conducting any experiments yourself?
3. What was your favorite part of Astronaut training?
4. What advice do you have for a 6-year-old that wants to be an astronaut?
5. What is the hardest thing you have had to do in space?
6. Is the coronavirus on the ISS and do you need to wear masks?
7. Do you and your crewmates play games in space?
8. Can you still do your favorite Earth hobbies on the ISS?
9. Are your astronaut outfits customizable (like can you make them different colors)?
10. What happens if there is a medical emergency on the ISS?
11. Who was your role model growing up and how have they helped you succeed in becoming an astronaut?
12. How do you communicate with all the astronauts that come from different countries?
13. Who is your favorite Avenger/superhero and why?
14. What is the object you miss the most that is on planet Earth?
15. What was the hardest part of the training, and did you think you were going to pass?
16. Do the constellations from the space station look different from how they do on Earth?
17. We've noticed you use a lot of towels-- what if you run out of towels?
18. Although zero-gravity sounds fun at first, does it get “old” after a while?
19. If you were given the chance, would you like to be the first person to mars?
20. How do you stay connected with your family on Earth while in space and how long do you get to talk or see them?
ARISS – Celebrating 20 Years of Amateur Radio Continuous Operations on the ISS
About ARISS:
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, and NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org
Media Contact:
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Search on Amateur Radio on the ISS and @ARISS_status.