People....please. Clint is simply very excited to have had a wonderful ARISS contact. We had 700 people at a contact I was involved in some years ago and after the applause died down most of the adults were in tears, that's how powerfully emotional an ARISS contact can be, especially for a poor school whose students are thought of as the next generation of broom pushers.
As the audio "distributor" for the contacts, I have the pleasure of sending the live audio into IRLP, Webstream and AMSAT's Echolink Conference Server for many of those contacts regardless of time they take place. The part you hear, the contact itself, is the capstone and in many cases just one part of an overall program the school has embarked on to stimulate interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. As a School Advisor I've shared in several and each one is a thrill.
ARISS won't be around forever, so the more good we can do now, the better off we'll be down the road.
73, John - AG9D ARISS Team
On Tue, Apr 24, 2012 at 7:41 PM, Clint Bradford [email protected]wrote:
FROM PETER >> ... excellent work ... children are our greatest asset ...
Now THERE'S someone who "gets it!" Thank you, Peter VE7NGP!
FROM CLUELESS >> ... Too bad its happened many times before ...
Huh? "Too bad?" Let's get some facts out here.
YES - SEVEN HUNDRED AND TWENTY ARISS contacts were completed before ours at Flabob last week.
That is 720 groups of students learning more about their respective countries' space programs.
That is thousands of classroom hours learning more about space and amateur radio.
That is 720 audiences anxiously hearing - at first - no response from the ISS. But then, upon the second or third attempt to contact via amateur radio - a palpable "feeling of awe" from all in attendance when an astronaut first replies.
That is 720 audiences wildly applauding after the completion of their contacts.
There are about three entities who can schedule radio time with the ISS: the various space programs involved, the various departments of defense involved, and AMATEUR RADIO via these ARISS contacts.
There is not a single student nor audience member nor amateur radio volunteer who thinks anything less of their contacts with the ISS - simple because "it has happened many times before."
I have 211 attendees who are extremely proud to have been "Number 721" last week.
So, to the person who wrote, " ... Too bad its happened many times before ... " - Either you are totally unaware of how wonderful these projects are for all involved, or have never been involved first-hand in such a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I cannot think of any other reason one would make such an ignorant comment.
Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.iss-flabob.com 909-241-7666
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