ARISS News Release No. 22-06
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
aa4kn@amsat.org
FORIMMEDIATE RELEASE
ARISSContact is Scheduled for
Students at Gewerbliche Schulen Donaueschingen,Donaueschingen, Germany
February7, 2022—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 GewerblicheSchulen Donaueschingen, in Donaueschingen, Germany and Astronaut MatthiasMaurer, amateur radio call sign KI5KFH. Students will taketurns asking their questions. Local Covid-19 protocols are adhered to asapplicable for each ARISS contact. The downlinkfrequency for this contact is 145.800 MHZ and may be heard by listeners thatare within the ISS-footprint that also encompasses the radio relay ground station.
Amateur radio operators, using the DN2FIScall sign, will operate the ham radio ground station for this contact.
The ARISS radio contact isscheduled for February 10, 2022, at 11:00:59 am CET (Donaueschingen, DE), (10:00:59UTC, 5:00 am EST, 4:00 am CST, 3:00 am MST and 2:00 am PST).
GewerblicheSchulen Donaueschingen provides a two-year vocational training program (about1,200 students) in science and technology and also a Secondary schoolcurriculum in the natural sciences and technology. In addition to the broad general educationcommon to all vocational high schools, students receive an introduction toworking in the engineering sciences of mechanical and electrical engineering. Theschool focuses on courses in physics, mathematics, and electrical engineering. Studentsmay also continue into their Technical College for mechanical engineering tobecome a technician in technical specialists’ fields of employment. Thegraduating 12th-grade class took on the ARISS contact as their finalgraduating project and have received support from local amateur radio club(DARC A18) members, and school staff. Many of the students involved in thisproject are licensed hams and members of the DARC A18. In preparation for theARISS contact, students in the 12th-grade curriculum studied specifictopics in physics (motion of bodies in space), mathematics, radio waveproperties (Doppler effect), and electrical engineering of radio components(frequency filtering and modulation). Amateur radio club activities also engagedstudents in antenna construction projects.
The public is invited to watch the live stream at: https://www.kmz-sbk.de/livestream/
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Astime allows, students will ask these questions:
Fortranslations of these questions in German, please contact Rita DeHart, Directorof Public Engagement at rmdehart@ariss-usa.org
1.How far do you think humanity has gone into space in 100 years?
2.What is your opinion of the Fermi-Paradoxon? Do you think that extraterrestriallife exists, if so, where?
3.Can you see the other planets better from the ISS than from Earth? Do you havea better view from there in general?
4.What actions will be taken if there is a rupture or leak in one of the spacecapsules? How is the safety of the astronauts and crew ensured?
5.Could you please bring us a small souvenir of you or the ISS? For example, aphoto or something small that we can hang or display at school.
6.Have you been able to try out your special oven and enjoy cookies?
7.Was it always your dream to become an astronaut? What drove you to do it?
8.You are permanently exposed to electronic devices that you operate. Whatopportunities do you have to relax, or how do you switch off?
9.Do you also organize certain festivities up there, if this is possible? Did youhave a nice Christmas?
10.Do you know the idea of the so called "skyhook" and if you know itwhat do you think about it?
11.Now that the construction of the Chinese space station is up, would orbitalmechanics allow to recreate the stunt from the movie Gravity? As an emergencyoption to get out.
12.What qualifications (medical knowledge) do you need to have as an astronaut?Did you find the training difficult?
13.In the event of an emergency, how quickly can you exit the ISS if necessary?What procedure do you follow?
14.If the safety line or the connection to the robot arm suddenly breaks during anoutside walk, how can it be ensured that the astronaut does not disappear intospace?
15.Have you ever been afraid that you would never return to Earth?
16.What solutions do you see to the problem of space debris?
17.What training program do you perform after returning to earth to counteractmuscle atrophy
18.How long will it take you to get used to earthly conditions again?
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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, Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) andNASA’s Space communications and Navigation program. The primary goal of ARISSis to promote 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 www.ariss.org.
MediaContact:
DaveJordan, AA4KN
ARISSPR
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