An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Kittredge Magnet School, Atlanta, GA on 24 Feb. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 18:23 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between NA1SS and KQ4KMS. The contact should be audible over the U.S. state of Georgia and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.
Story:
Kittredge Magnet School (KMS) is a public magnet school for high-achieving students, and has been recognized three times as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. Our students are drawn from 45 public schools across the DeKalb County School District. Students must first score a high level on the standardized testing at their home schools, then they can apply for admission to Kittredge via a lottery system. Once a student is accepted into Kittredge, he/she can remain in the magnet program through high school. The Georgia Governor's Office of Student Achievement recently awarded Kittredge Magnet School the Platinum Award, as one of the Highest Performing Schools in the state. There are currently 480 students at Kittredge in grades four through six, comprising a demographically and culturally diverse community. Our faculty and staff work hard to provide a rigorous program that challenges students to "see beyond" their textbooks, be creative problem-solvers, and to explore the real-world applications of their learning in all fields of discipline. We offer students a creative and challenging approach to problem solving with flexible content. Our school has established an amateur radio station, used to enhance classroom instruction, and there is also a school amateur radio club. Sixth grade science curriculum focuses on Earth and Space; students recently took a 3-day field trip to Space Camp in Hunstville, AL. Kittredge students have been planning for and building towards this ARISS contact all year, and they are so excited and honored to have this opportunity.
Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows:
1. What education is required to become an astronaut? Do you have any
advice for students who want to become astronauts?
2. Is an American always "in charge" on the ISS or do the different
countries take turns?
3. Do you only go to the ISS with the same team, or do you meet new
people every time you go?
4. Is there a "waiting list" for countries that want to be part of an
ISS team, and is there a maximum number of team members at one time?
5. How do you communicate with fellow astronauts aboard the ISS when
there is a language barrier?
6. What is the hardest activity that you do on the Space Station?
7. Does the food taste good? How do you season it?
8. What type of experiments do astronauts do in space?
9. What would happen if you put dry ice inside the space station and
outside the space station?
10. What were you allowed to take with you to the ISS, how much are you
allowed, and how did you decide what to bring?
11. Are you able to see some of the other planets and their moons more
clearly from the ISS?
12. How does the 16 sunrises and sunsets affect your sleep schedule?
13. Can you vote for political events while in space and if so how?
14. Is there an emergency plan in case something goes wrong during
launch? If so, what is it?
15. Has someone ever gotten sick or had a medical emergency on the ISS?
If so, what is the procedure?
16. How much radiation do you get, on average, in a normal stay on the
ISS, and do you see any change in physical and/or mental health as
a result?
17. How would the ISS get more oxygen if it ever ran out of oxygen?
18. Is it easy to write in space, or do you have to use different
materials to write there?
19. What do you with your trash in space?
20. Do you grow any food up there and how do you make sure you have
enough food to last you before another shipment comes in?
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Next planned event(s):
1. Celia Hays Elementary, Rockwall, Texas, direct via W5SO
astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA
Contact is go for: Tue 2020-02-25 17:35 UTC
Watch for live stream at https://live.myvrspot.com/st?cid=NWM5NW
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 and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or public forms. 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.
Thank you & 73,
David - AA4KN