ARISS News Release                                                                                                    No.22-54

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

aa4kn@amsat.org

FORIMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARISSContact is Scheduled with Students at

Harris Middle School, Spruce Pine, North Carolina, USA

October8, 2022—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has receivedschedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact between astronauts aboard theInternational Space Station (ISS) and students at Harris Middle School locatedin Spruce Pine, NC, USA.  ARISS conducts60-80 of these special amateur radio contacts each year between students aroundthe globe and crew members with ham radio licenses aboard the ISS.

Harris Middle School, a rural public school in Spruce Pine, NC,was founded in 1916 and is one of only two middle schools in Mitchell County serving,237 students in grades six, seven, and eight. The school incorporated amateurradio related studies and activities into their existing STEM curriculum priorto this ARISS contact. This included satellite communications (frequencyDoppler affects), building UHF/VHF yagi antennas, and building an amateursatellite communication station. Students studied mathematical relationships ofradio wave properties, and gravity of orbiting bodies. Courses incorporatedtopics that included space exploration, the solar system, and Earth’s weathersystem. Students also learned more about the history of the ISS, and theaffects of living in space. For this ARISS contact, the school partnered with theCollege Foundation of Western North Carolina for the establishment of theschool’s amateur radio satellite station.

This will be a direct contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask their questions ofAstronaut Bob Hines, amateur radio call sign KI5RQT. Local Covid-19 protocolsare adhered to as applicable for each ARISS contact. The downlink frequency forthis contact is 145.800 MHZ and may be heard by listeners that are within theISS-footprint that also encompasses the relay ground station.

The amateur radio ground station for this contactis in Spruce Pine, NC. Amateur radio operators using call sign K4CF, willoperate the ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

TheARISS radio contact is scheduled for October 11, 2022 at 11:00:45 am EDT (SprucePine, NC) (15:00:45UTC, 10:00 am CDT, 9:00 am MDT, 8:00 am PDT).

Thepublic is invited to watch the live stream at: https://www.facebook.com/mitchellcountyschools

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Astime allows, students will ask these questions:

1)What inspired you to become an astronaut and what has been your mostchallenging part of your journey?

2)If an astronaut is sick or injured, how are they treated? How would he or sheget back to Earth in an emergency?

3)Are all the astronauts on the ISS on the same sleep and work schedule or arethere different shifts?

4)How many crew members do you have on board?

5)When you finish your mission on the ISS, would you like to be a part of theArtemis program or even go to Mars?

6)Does the ISS have an escape vehicle and have you ever had to use it?

7)If you had to give advice to a future astronaut about something they shouldknow that training did not prepare them for, what would you tell them?

8)What is your educational background or field of study?

9)How do you maintain adequate nutrition and fitness while being on board theISS?

10)What will you miss the most while being in Space?  What food item not available on the ISS willyou miss the most?

11)How do you celebrate birthdays and holidays on the ISS?

12)How do you stay in touch with your family?

13)How do the astronauts wash their hair without getting water everywhere?

14)Are you or anyone else up there doing research on any diseases that affecthumans?  Are you aware of any research inspace that has helped to understand, treat, or cure a disease?

15)What is your favorite space-themed movie?

16)  How long have you been involved in the spaceprogram and how long have you been on the ISS?

17)  How long have you been a ham and what do youenjoy about it?

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

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MediaContact:

DaveJordan, AA4KN

ARISSPR

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