An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Delcastle Technical High School, Wilmington, DE on 24 Oct. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 17:48 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between NA1SS and K2CCW. The contact should be audible over the state of Delaware and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.

School Information:

At Delcastle, where the event will take place, each science class is supporting the ARISS contact through their lessons and class activities. Physical science teachers are investigating electromagnetic waves, to help students understand how radio waves are used to communicate with the ISS and how the space station protects its crew from solar radiation. Biology students are investigating methods of growing a sustainable food supply for space travel as part of their unit on photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Chemistry students are exploring the nuclear reactions that powers the Sun and learning how to calculate exposure to solar radiation. Integrated science teachers focus their lessons on the different types of radio waves used for communication and how solar weather can affect their transmission. From these lessons, students will prepare questions for the ISS astronauts.

Just as on the International Space Station, teamwork is an important part of our mission to prepare students for a career and/or college. Students in the school's Digital Media career program designed and produced banners and t-shirts and are using social media platforms to promote the ARISS contact. Students and faculty also designed a website, TalkToTheSpaceStation.com, so the community at large could learn about ARISS. Video production students will document the event and stream the experience on Facebook Live so all NCCVTSD students and viewers everywhere can participate.

Hodgson Vo-Tech High School, a sister school 15 miles to the south of Delcastle, is building the ground station antennas. Students in the school's Academy of Manufacturing / Pre-Engineering career area are responsible for the antenna construction. The antenna will be installed on Delcastle's roof for communication with the ISS.

The ARISS experience is a unique opportunity for our school and would not be possible without the help and support of the local community. ILC Dover, developer and producer of the Space Suit Assembly used by the crew of the ISS, was an original endorser of our ARISS proposal. The company, located 60 miles south of the school, is curating a temporary exhibit of its technology that will be on display at Delcastle for students to visit days prior to the ARISS contact. Coincidently, an ILC Dover design engineer and a materials expert are both graduates of Delcastle and have led the exhibit planning. Our sponsoring partner, Radio Newark, is providing the engineering and ground station operations in partnership with the students and faculty at Delcastle and Hodgson. We are certain that young minds will be challenged throughout this STEM-focused activity.

Radio Newark, the sponsoring organization, is a Science radio station. The station is an IRS-recognized educational broadcast service that focuses on stories about science and scientists, and current news from the world of science. The station can be heard through iTunes, apps like TuneIn and Rad.io, and through our online player at radionewark.org. Over the air, WIZU-FM may be heard in our hometown of Newark, Delaware, broadcasting from the STAR Campus (Science, Technology and Advanced Research) of the University of Delaware.

Radio Newark is sponsoring the ARISS event, and providing project management, engineering and ground station operations in partnership with the Delcastle's AV and IT staff and students.

Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows:

1. How does your body adjust to living without gravity and what changes will

you feel when you return to Earth?

2. How significant is the threat of solar weather to the crew on the space

station?

3. How do you train or prepare for mechanical problems during a mission? Do

you need plumbing, welding or electrical skills to make necessary repairs?

4. We've read different descriptions for the odd and unique smell encountered

in space. Have you experienced this smell on the ISS? If so, how would you

describe it?

5. What will be the biggest thing to give up when having to leave the space

station and return to Earth?

6. What changes are seen in plants grown in space compared to plants grown on

the Earth?

7. Experiments on plant growth have occurred on the International Space

Station. What could this mean in the future for sustainable farming

practices in both space and on the Earth?

8. What would happen if there is a serious medical issue with one of the

astronauts? If someone were to get injured, is the recovery process of a

wound any different, longer, or shorter than it is on earth?

9. What are the hardest parts of your job on the ISS?

10. How do the electrical systems on the International Space Station work

without a an actual "ground"?

11. What is the hardest thing to describe about space to someone who has

never been there?

12. Does sleeping while "strapped down" feel much different than sleeping in

your bed at home?

13. If offered, would you join the first group of pioneers to make a

habitable territory on the moon or on Mars?

14. How much radiation does your body experience in space and how does the

structure of the ISS protect you?

15. Can a cell phone be used the ISS to call the Earth or another space

station?

16. What are some of health risks living on the ISS for an extended time

PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES:

Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the

International Space Station (ARISS).

To receive our Twitter updates, follow @ARISS_status

Next planned event(s):

1. Tallmadge Community Learning Center, Lancaster, OH, direct via K8QIK

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS

The scheduled astronaut is Serena Aunon-Chancellor KG5TMT

Contact is a go for: Wed 2018-10-31 14:56 UTC

2. Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School, Palmer, MA,

direct via KB1MDS

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS

The scheduled astronaut is Serena Aunon-Chancellor KG5TMT

Contact is a go for: Fri 2018-11-02 14:50 UTC

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 International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org, and www.arrl.org.

Thank you & 73,

David - AA4KN

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