ARISS News Release No. 24-92

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARISS Contact is Scheduled with Students at

Sally Ride Elementary School, Orlando, Florida, USA

December 15, 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 Sally Ride Elementary School located in Orlando, FL. 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.

Sally Ride Elementary, located in a large suburban area of Orlando, FL, is an aviation and aerospace

magnet school serving about 400 children, from prekindergarten to fifth grade. Named after Dr. Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly in space, the school campus was formed out of two merged public schools. In addition to their Aviation and Aerospace Magnet Program, students in the school’s STEM classes have designed rockets and solar cars, built airplanes and hot air balloons, and solved engineering problems. Students are also participating in the TomatoSphere NASA project in which they compare the growth of two groups of tomato seeds: one that had spent 36 days on the ISS and one that did not.

The school organized their first ‘Astro Night’ allowing students to observe celestial bodies in our solar system (our Moon and Saturn) using higher power telescopes provided by the Central Florida Astronomical Society. In preparation for this ARISS contact, students have been learning about radio communication, and how to build an antenna from members of the Orlando Amateur Radio Club. Students were also able to directly observe the ISS passing over their area.

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 Orlando, FL. Amateur radio operators using call sign K1AA, will operate the ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for December 17, 2024 at 1:49:38 pm EST (Orlando, FL) (18:49:38 UTC, 12:49 pm CST, 11:49 am MST, 10:49 am PST).

Live streaming of the event is expected to be made available to the general public. Check our social media listed below for any updates.

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As time allows, students will ask these questions:

1. Why did you decide to become an astronaut?

2. I get a sticker when I visit the doctor. Do you have doctors in space?

3. How often do you talk to your family?

4. I want to be an astronaut; what advice do you think I need to make my dreams come true?

5. Do you have a favorite food you eat in space?

6. Have you ever been on a spacewalk?

7. How long have you been in space and how many days before you return?

8. What do you do for fun in the ISS?

9. How do you train your body to go to space?

10. When in space, what do you miss the most from Earth?

11. Do your clothes get dirty in space like mine when I play outside?

12. What do you do in space? What is your role?

13. Are you excited to talk to us today?

14. What is the oldest experiment that is still in the space station?

15. Who is driving the ISS if everyone is sleeping?

16. How do you celebrate holidays or birthdays in ISS?

17. Do you have a favorite teacher who was an influence on you?

18. When you were my age, what was your favorite and least favorite subject?

19. Do your ears pop and hurt when you launch into space and return to Earth?

20. Can you see other planets, comets, and stars from the ISS orbit?

21. What kind of animals have gone to space?

22. Do you grow plants in ISS?

23. When you come back to earth do you have minor side effects?

24. What do you like the most about being 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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