*ARISS News Release No.24-42*

*Dave Jordan, AA4KN *

*ARISS PR*

*aa4kn@amsat.org aa4kn@amsat.org*

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

*ARISS Contact is Scheduled with Students at *

*Kopernik Observatory, Vestal, New York, USA*

July 28, 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 Kopernik Observatory located in Vestal, NY. 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.

The Kopernik Observatory & Science Center is a non-profit informal educational institution that promotes interdisciplinary education in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). This year is the 32nd summer of Kopernik STEM camps for students between 2nd and 12th grades. One of the camps offered this summer is entitled “Welcome Aboard the ISS”, where rising 5th and 6th grade students will learn about what it takes to become an astronaut, how they train for a mission and what research is being done on the ISS.

Opened in 1974, Kopernik is celebrating its 50th anniversary as a STEM education resource in the region. Kopernik’s resources include three permanent telescopes, a heliostat, weather station, three classrooms, computer lab, portable planetarium and amateur radio station (K2ZRO). It also offers an outreach program in which its educators bring programs directly into the classroom. Kopernik is the home of the Kopernik Astronomical Society and the Binghamton Amateur Radio Association (W2OW) whose members are supporting observatory staff in the set up and radio station operation during this ARISS contact.

This will be a direct contact via amateur radio allowing students to ask their questions of astronaut Matthew Dominick, amateur radio call sign KC0TOR. 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 Vestal, NY. Amateur radio operators using call sign K2ZRO, will operate the ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for July 31, 2024 at 2:17:25 pm EDT (NY) (18:17:25 UTC, 1:17 pm CDT, 12:17 pm MDT, 11:17 am PDT).

The public is invited to watch the live stream at: *https://youtube.com/live/Tv3x3D0DTzU?feature=share https://url.emailprotection.link/?bueTFlxqVySi5mUb9gUTKzUtagUq9vR9TfWMA3gn_y9212SWsoHyERBR5kpitIdW9xdfaf_dYOsbV2jZhrIinKCKqSjYZAP6pSUWOID-YZj-kwzseEbLQDw1xUO-PYdwK*

*_______________________________*

As time allows, students will ask these questions:

1. How does training underwater compare to the feeling of weightlessness in space? Does it actually feel pretty similar?

2. Looking out to space from the ISS, in what ways does it look different from a night sky on Earth?

3. Is artificial gravity just science fiction or a possibility in the future?

4. Does the ISS have any engine powering it forward?

5. How did they keep the ISS in orbit before there were astronauts on it and in between missions?

6. If the sun is the center of our solar system, and gives heat and light to the other planets, why is space cold and dark and not bright and hot?

7. What does a sunrise look like on the ISS?

8. What does Space sound like?

9. How long was your training for this ISS mission?

10. What's it feel like to experience a rocket launch?

11. What was your inspiration to want to become an astronaut?

12. What is the most challenging thing you have encountered as an astronaut on the ISS? Did you create a solution or overcome it?

13. How do you get enough air on the International Space Station?

14. Do you eat food from a bag?

15. Can I go to space?

16. Is it hard or easy to pick things up in the vacuum of space?

17. What is the greatest danger on your mission?

18. What is it like in space (compared to earth)?

19. Can animals survive at ISS?

*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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