ARISS News Release                                                                                                    No.21-19

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

aa4kn@amsat.org

FORIMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARISSContact is Scheduled with Students at

Oakwood School, Morgan Hill, California, USA

March20, 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 Multipoint Telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio between the ISS and students fromOakwood School, Morgan Hill, CA. Students will take turns asking theirquestions of ISS Astronaut Shannon Walker, amateur radio call sign KD5DXB, duringthe ARISS radio contact. English is the language that will be used duringthe contact. The downlink frequencyfor this contact is 145.800 MHz.

The ARISS team in Casale Monferrato, Italy willuse call sign IK1SLD to serve as the ARISS relay amateur radio ground station. Each student asking a question onthe ARISS radio will be conferenced in from home or social-distancedat school.

TheARISS radio contact is scheduled for March 22, 2021 at 11:27 am PDT (MorganHill, CA) (18:27 UTC, 2:27 pm EDT, 1:27 pm CDT,12:27 pm MDT).

OakwoodSchool is a nonprofit,private, rural/suburban school (about 500 students, preschool – 12thgrade) serving the community of Morgan Hill. The school’s STEM curriculumincludes lab science in kindergarten and college prep courses for middle andhigh school students and extracurricular activities in STEM-related subjects (roboticsand astronomy). During the past school year, in preparation for the ARISScontact, the school instituted a Year in Space Program for all grades. Theclass curriculum included new STEM courses that focused on space-related studiesas well as enhancements to the existing STEM courses. This year-long program benefitedfrom a number of volunteers from the space industry who provided classpresentations and student activities in the fields of: radio communication(amateur radio and radio astronomy), astronomy, computer science, engineering,and robotics. High school students from the Astronomy Club will assist amateurradio operator volunteers in integration and testing of the ARISS contact’sbackup radio station, and will help in setup of the ground station. In additionto incorporating amateur-related ideas into after-school STEM programs, theschool’s amateur radio volunteer, who advises the school amateur radio andastronomy clubs, hosted ham radio testing for middle and elementary gradestudents.

Viewthe live stream of this ARISS radio contact at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg8ni7Gq6Z0.

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Astime allows, students will ask these questions:

1.  What is your favorite place on the ISS?

2.Are you currently conducting any experiments yourself?

3.What was your favorite part of Astronaut training?

4.  What advice do you have for a 6-year-old thatwants to be an astronaut?

5.  What is the hardest thing you have had to doin space?

6.  Is the coronavirus on the ISS and do you needto wear masks?

7.  Do you and your crewmates play games inspace?

8.Can you still do your favorite Earth hobbies on the ISS?

9.Are your astronaut outfits customizable (like can you make them differentcolors)?

10.What happens if there is a medical emergency on the ISS?

11.Who was your role model growing up and how have they helped you succeed inbecoming an astronaut?

12.How do you communicate with all the astronauts that come from differentcountries?

13.  Who is your favorite Avenger/superhero andwhy?

14.What is the object you miss the most that is on planet Earth?

15.What was the hardest part of the training, and did you think you were going topass?

16.Do the constellations from the space station look different from how they do onEarth?

17.We've noticed you use a lot of towels-- what if you run out of towels?

18.Although zero-gravity sounds fun at first, does it get “old” after a while?

19.If you were given the chance, would you like to be the first person to mars?

20.How do you stay connected with your family on Earth while in space and how longdo you get to talk or see them?

ARISS– Celebrating 20 Years of Amateur Radio Continuous Operations on the 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, sponsorsare the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio RelayLeague (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, and NASA’s SpaceCommunications and Navigation program. The primary goal of ARISS is to promoteexploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematicstopics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew membersaboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students,educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, andamateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org

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MediaContact:

DaveJordan, AA4KN

ARISSPR

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