ARISS News Release No.23-42
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
aa4kn@amsat.org
FORIMMEDIATE RELEASE
ARISSContact is Scheduled with Students at
Bowman Middle School, Bakersville, North Carolina USA
August25, 2023—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has receivedschedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact between an astronaut aboardthe International Space Station (ISS) and students at the Bowman Middle School locatedin Bakersville, NC. ARISS conducts 60-80of these special amateur radio contacts each year between students around theglobe and crew members with ham radio licenses aboard the ISS.
Bowman Middle School (BMS) is a rural, public school in Bakersvillein northwestern North Carolina near the border with Tennessee and in the heartof the Blue Ridge mountains within the southern Appalachian Mountainchain. BMS has approximately 200students in grades 5 through 8. Inpreparation for this ARISS contact, BMS STEM faculty have implemented ISS/Spacetravel/Satellite related lesson plans. Students studied topics such as wavepropagation, doppler effect, gravity, speed of light, speed of sound, and participatedin building a scaled lunar module. Throughout the year, students have set up anHF/VHF ham station in the classroom, built wire and directional antennas, andparticipated in satellite QSOs using an Arrow 2m/432 MHz antenna. Experienced localamateur radio operators are supporting the school during this contact.
This will be a direct contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask their questions ofAstronaut Warren Hoburg, amateur radio call sign KB3HTZ. The downlink frequencyfor this contact is 145.800 MHz and may be heard by listeners that are withinthe ISS-footprint that also encompasses the relay ground station.
The amateur radio ground station for this contactis in Bakersville, NC. Amateur radio operators using call sign W4GUZ, willoperate the ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.
TheARISS radio contact is scheduled for August 28, 2023 at 10:38 am EDT (NC) (14:38:46UTC, 9:38 am CDT, 8:38 am MDT, 7:38 am PDT).
_______________________________
Astime allows, students will ask these questions:
1.Are you or anyone else up there doing research on any diseases that affecthumans? Are you aware of any research inspace that has helped to understand, treat, or cure a disease?
2.How are you trained to respond to a fire on the ISS? How do you get rid of theresidual chemicals, materials, and smoke?
3.What is your favorite space-themed movie or show?
4.How long have you been an astronaut and how long have you been on the ISS?
5.Are there ever any climate or weather-related research carried out on theISS? If so, what was the focus of theresearch?
6.How many ham radio operators are currently on board the ISS? How long have you been a ham radio operatorand what do you enjoy about it?
7.Can minor or major surgery ever be performed, if necessary, on the ISS? What are the procedures medical-relatedissues among the crew?
8.What is your educational background and field of study? How do you use this on the mission?
9.What is the typical mission length in months of an ISS astronaut? How long is the pre-training before thismission and how would you describe the pre-training experience?
10.Being an ISS astronaut has to be the highlight of your career, what do you wantto do in the future as far as space research or travel?
11.Who inspired you the most to be where you are today and why?
12.Were there any specific events that you saw that led you to become an astronauton the ISS?
13.What specific advice would you give to young people today?
14.What activities and food do you miss the most while on this mission?
15.Who was your favorite teacher and what made them special to you?
16.What is the size of the current ISS crew and what nations are representedcurrently? Did you have to learn any ofthe languages of the other astronauts?
17.Can you describe the training you went through inpreparing for the return trip to Earth and splashdown?
18.How do you maintain your health and fitness while on the ISS?
19.What advice would you give to a future astronaut about something they shouldknow that the training did not prepare you for, if any?
20.How are the crew and mission of the ISS an instrument of peace and hope in aworld full of conflict today?
About ARISS:
Amateur Radio on the InternationalSpace Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radiosocieties 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-SpaceStation Explorers, Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) and NASA’s SpaceCommunications and Navigation program (SCaN). The primary goal of ARISS is topromote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, andmathematics topics. ARISS does this by organizing scheduled contacts viaamateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before andduring these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities takepart in hands-on learning activities tied to space, space technologies, andamateur radio. For more information, see http://www.ariss.org
MediaContact:
DaveJordan, AA4KN
ARISSPR
Findus on social media at:
Twitter:ARISS_Intl
Facebook:facebook.com/ARISSIntl
Instagram:ariss_intl
Mastodon:ariss_intl@mastodon.hams.social
Checkout ARISS on Youtube.com.