ARISS News Release No. 24-59

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARISS Contact is Scheduled with Students at

Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama (SMKA) Tengku Ampuan Hajjah Afzan Pahang, Jerantut, Malaysia

October 5, 2024—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 students at the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama (SMKA) Tengku Ampuan Hajjah Afzan Pahang located in Kuala Lumpur West Malaysia. ARISS conducts 60-100 of these special amateur radio contacts each year between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses aboard the ISS.

This ARISS contact coincides with the annual national event, World Space Week, which was instituted in 2007 since Malaysian astronaut, Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, flew to the ISS October 10, 2007. This was accomplished under an agreement between the governments of Malaysia and the Russian Federation resulting in the development of the Angkasawan (Malaysian for astronaut) Program to fly the first Malaysian citizen aboard the ISS. Shukor spent nine days aboard the ISS conducting six life science experiments and education demonstrations. This ARISS contact is supported by the National Planetarium, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, with ground station support (9M2RPN).

This will be a direct contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask their questions of astronaut Sunita Williams, amateur radio call sign KD5PLB. 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.

The amateur radio ground station for this contact is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Amateur radio operators using call sign 9M2RPN, will operate the ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for October 7, 2024 at 7:58 pm MYT (Kuala Lumpur) (11:58 UTC, 7:58 am EDT, 6:58 am CDT, 5:58 am MDT, 4:58 am PDT).

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As time allows, students will ask these questions:

1. What does the view of the Earth look like from the ISS?

2. What is the most surprising thing about living in space that you did not expect?

3. What is the biggest challenge you have faced living on the ISS?

4. What is your favorite part of living on the ISS?

5. How do you manage daily routines like sleeping and eating in space?

6. What kind of scientific experiments are you currently conducting on the ISS?

7. What do you miss most about the Earth while you are on the ISS?

8. What is the coolest thing you have seen from the ISS?

9. What do astronauts do to relax after a long day?

10. Have you ever witnessed any strange or unexpected phenomena in space?

11. What advice would you give to young people who want to become an astronaut?

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 ISS. In the United States, sponsors are the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC), Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program (SCaN) and the ISS National Lab—Space Station Explorers. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics. ARISS does this 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 take part in hands-on learning activities tied to space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see http://www.ariss.org.

Media Contact:

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

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