ARISS News Release                                                                                               No.24-08

DaveJordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

aa4kn@amsat.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARISSContact is Scheduled with Students at

Thrive Home School Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

February 1,2024—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has receivedschedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact between an astronaut aboardthe International Space Station (ISS) and students at the Thrive Home SchoolAcademy located in Colorado Springs, CO. ARISS conducts 60-100 of these special amateur radio contacts each yearbetween students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses aboardthe ISS.

ThriveHome School Academy (THSA) opened in 2009 and serves home schooled students ingrades K-12, with 367 students. The school offers students a one-day-per-weekfull school day programthat is highly interactive and experiential andengages students in hands-on activities. THSA also offers an array ofextracurricular activities to further enhance students’ learning outside of theclassroom. THSA has also worked with GrowingBeyond Earth on the NASA Veggie Project with Dr. Goia Massa for the last sixyears, allowing one of their students, who has worked on this project over thelast two years, to ask a question based on that work. While STEM education is afocus within the district, in the 2023-24 school year and leading up to thisARISS contact, the curriculum is focusing on space technologies and radiocommunication. Recently,the school district hosted astronauts Kevin Chilton and Susan Helms to come andtalk to students and their families about space communications and travel,space technologies, and their experiences in space. Members of the Pikes PeakRadio Amateur Association and ARRL Colorado Section Manager Amanda Alden havehelped students to learn about orbital mechanics and ham radio and satellitecommunications.

This will be adirect contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask theirquestions of astronaut Loral O’Hara, amateur radio call sign KI5TOM. Thedownlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHz and may be heard bylisteners that are within the ISS-footprint that also encompasses the relayground station.

The amateur radio ground station for this contact is in ColoradoSprings, CO. Amateur radio operators using call sign AFØS,will operate the ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

The ARISS radiocontact is scheduled for February 2, 2024 at 11:21:26 am MST (CO, USA) (18:21:26 UTC,1:21 pm EST, 12:21 pm CST, 10:21 am PST).

The public isinvited to watch the live stream at: http://www.hsd2.org

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As time allows,students will ask these questions:

1. Do thingssmell or taste differently in space?

2. What is yourfavorite meal while on the International Space Station?

3. How did itfeel to walk in space?

4. How manyrooms does the ISS have, and do you have your own bedroom?

5. If the ISStravels at 17000 mph, why do you float?

6. Based on theresearch from the Veggie Project, could you grow a fruit-bearing bonsai tree inspace?

7. How do youkeep up your muscle mass?

8. How muchpower would it take to reach the nearest neutron star?

9. How do youcommunicate with your family when you are in space?

10. How does itfeel to take off in a rocket?

11. Whatinspired you to become an astronaut?

12. What isyour favorite thing you have seen in space?

13. When do youcome back from space and how will you get back?

14. Do youoperate and sleep on Universal time or Houston time?

15. Do you feellike you’re falling all the time? If not, how long does it last until you getused to it?

16. What is onemission you’ve done onboard, and do you like doing them?

17. Can youplay a musical instrument on the ISS?

18. Can you seeconstellations from the ISS?

19. What is onething you will do differently because of your experience in space?

20. What movieor show inspires you about space?

About ARISS:

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) isa cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the spaceagencies that support the ISS. In the United States, sponsors are the AmericanRadio Relay League (ARRL), Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC), RadioAmateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), NASA’s Space Communications andNavigation program (SCaN) and the ISS National Lab—Space Station Explorers. Theprimary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology,engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics. ARISS does this by organizingscheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS andstudents. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents,and communities take part in hands-on learning activities tied to space, spacetechnologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see http://www.ariss.org

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Media Contact:

Dave Jordan,AA4KN

ARISS PR

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