ARISS News Release                                                                                                    No. 21-11

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

aa4kn@amsat.org

 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

 

ARISS Contact is Scheduled with Students at

Bishop Guertin High School, Nashua, New Hampshire, USA

 

February 15, 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 Bishop Guertin High School. Students will take turns asking their questions of ISS astronaut Shannon Walker, amateur radio call sign KD5DXB, during the ARISS radio contact. The downlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHz.  

 

ARISS team member Fred Kemmerer, using his call sign AB1OC in New Hampshire, will serve as the relay amateur radio station. Each student asking a question on the ARISS radio will be conferenced in from home. English is the language expected to be used during the contact. 

 

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for February 19, 2021 at 12:56 pm EST (Nashua, NH) (17:56 UTC, 11:56 am CST, 10:56 am MST, 9:56 am PST).

 

View the live stream of the upcoming ARISS radio contact at: https://youtu.be/0-Dsel4_7gM

 

Bishop Guertin High School (about 800 students) is a private college preparatory Catholic high school that educates students from over 40 communities in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The school’s core curriculum includes a variety of STEM topics for all grades (9-12). The school also supports STEM-related extracurricular activities as student-organized clubs (Astronomy, STEM, Robotics, 3-D Printing). In preparation for the ARISS contact, their science core classes (and the STEM clubs) also included topics/activities that helped students learn about space exploration, life in space, and the importance of the ISS-related research and radio communications. Over the past four years, Bishop Guertin students collaborated with members of Nashua Area Radio Society (NARS, holding club call N1FD) and participated in a variety of the student STEM activities. These activities included: learning about radio communication, building Morse-code kits for Morse code practice and message sending, and launching/tracking two high-altitude balloons. Students later formally presented the collected balloon data to NARS. These activities, along with mentoring from NARS members, inspired a number of the students to eventually earn their ham radio licenses. NARS will also assist the school with the ARISS contact.

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As time allows, students will ask these questions:

 

1. What landmark on Earth looks the most amazing from space?

2. What day to day task is most challenging in space?

3. What inspired you to become an astronaut?

4. What experiments are you currently working on?

5. Can you share with us what you like best about being in space?

6. What does a typical day look like for you?

7. What is something new you learned in space?

8. What did you bring from Earth to remind you of home?

9. What part of space travel is most exciting for you?

10. Does being in zero gravity feel like floating in water?

11. What are some recent discoveries the ISS has made from the experiments conducted in space?

12. Upon returning to Earth, how do you plan to re-adjust to gravity?

13. What are your thoughts as you prepare for lift off?

14. As an experienced astronaut, what advice would you give to a new astronaut heading to the ISS?

15. How do you treat injuries or illnesses in space?

16. Do you have a favorite space food?

17. What is the most unusual thing you have seen in space?

18. What part of your training was most challenging?

19. What happens to your tears in space?

20. How do the sun and stars look different in space than on Earth?

 

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

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Media Contact:

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

                                                                              

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