ARISS News Release No. 21-53
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
aa4kn@amsat.org
FORIMMEDIATE RELEASE
ARISSContact is Scheduled for
Students at Mary Hare School (for the deaf), Newbury,UK
October8, 2021—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has receivedschedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact with astronauts. ARISS is thegroup that puts together special amateur radio contacts between students aroundthe globe and crew members with ham radio licenses on the International Space Station (ISS).
This will be a direct contact via amateur radio between students at the Mary Hare School,Newbury, UK and Astronaut Mark Vande Hei, amateur radio call sign KG5GNP. Students will take turns asking their questions.Appropriate local Covid-19protocols are adhered to as applicable for each ARISS contact. The downlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHZ and may be heardby listeners that are within the ISS-footprint that also encompasses the radio relayground station.
Amateur radio operators in Newbury using theGB4MHN call sign will operate the ham radio ground station for this contact.
The ARISS radio contact isscheduled for October 12, 2021 at 12:12 pm BST (Newbury, UK), (11:12 UTC, 7:12am EDT, 6:12 am CDT, 5:12 am MDT and 4:12 am PDT).
Mary Hare School isan aural school for the deaf that teaches students to develop lip readingskills and to make use of technology. The school teaches students (Year 1 – 13,ages 5 – 19 years) that are studying towards A levels. About 250 students willbe in the auditorium where the contact will take place and about 600 studentsin other parts of the school will be linked in via a web feed to observe thecontact. Topics taught during the school year prior to this ARISS contact that wererelated to radio and space included studies in the fields of physics, chemistryand biology. Student activities during the week prior to the contact includeddesigning and flying model rockets, making astronomical observations, andobserving authentic space suits. After each student asks their question, the astronaut’sreply will then be transcribed into subtitles. The technical side of the contact (radio equipment)is being handled by the ARISS UK team with members of the Newbury and DistrictAmateur Radio Society (NADARS) providing the students with the “amateur radioexperience” through events and activities. This is believed to be the firstARISS contact between a school for deaf children and an astronaut on the ISS.
The public is invited to watch the live stream at: https://live.ariss.org
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Astime allows, students will ask these questions:
1. Do you have to learn a sign languageto communicate if something goes wrong with the radios in your suit?
2. How do you tell directions in space?
3. What do the northern lights looklike from space?
4. How can you shower in zero gravity?
5. What’s your most favourite spacetechnology?
6. If there was a fire, how would youevacuate?
7. Do mobile devices work in space? Forexample, a Smart Phone?
8. If you could take one thing fromhome into space, to make life more fun what would you take and why?
9. What is it like to wake up and seethe earth from space?
10. How long have you been in spacefor?
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ARISS – Celebrating 20 Years of Continuous Amateur Radio Operations onthe ISS
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 SatelliteCorporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS NationalLab-Space Station Explorers, and NASA’s Space communications and Navigationprogram. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science,technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics. ARISS does this byorganizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard theISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators,parents, and communities take part in hands-on learning activities tied tospace, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org
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MediaContact:
DaveJordan, AA4KN
ARISSPR
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