An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at River Ridge High School, New Port Richey, FL. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 15:17 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between NA1SS and WA3YFQ. The contact should be audible over the state of Florida 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.

Story:

River Ridge High School's sprawling 120 acre campus is located Pasco County, Florida. River Ridge strives to provide their 1700 students with the highest degree of instructional excellence while recognizing the unique needs and developing the abilities of every student. Through the cooperative efforts of family, school, and community, students are prepared to be responsible, productive citizens and life-long learners. River Ridge is the home to five career academies, including the New Teaching, New Media and Communications, Engineering, Business, and Fine Arts and Musical Entertainment, each of which is designed to prepare students for future careers. Many of the academy students earn valuable industry certifications before graduating.

Students also have the opportunity to earn college credit or an AA degree through their extensive Advanced Placement program and dual-enrollment opportunities both on campus and at Pasco Hernando State College.

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

1. Are any effects of climate change visible from the ISS?

2. What goes through your mind on the launch pad?

3. How do you protect yourself against harmful radiation?

4. When on the ISS, what is your favorite free time activity?

5. Why do you periodically have to adjust the orbit of the ISS?

6. What new perspective about planet earth have you gained after being on the ISS?

7. Does space really smell like gun powder?

8. If something could be invented tomorrow that would help you on the ISS, what would it be?

9. Our experiment will be arriving on the ISS on mission 14 and we'd like to know if astronauts receive any medications for diseases they are susceptible to on the ISS?

10. What was most challenging obstacle for you during training?

11. What happens if there is a medical emergency that involves a surgery?

12. Do you have a reaction wheel on the ISS?

13. What is most interesting conspiracy theory you've heard about space?

14. After being on the ISS, would you want to go to Mars?

15. How do you water the plants in Veggie?

16. Are you limited to a maximum weight of personal stuff you can take?

17. Do you ever get motion sickness?

18. Does anyone play an instrument while on the ISS?

19. What advice would you give a student wanting to be an astronaut?

20. What was most challenging about your first day?

21. What is the one food you dream about?

22. Do you think we need to clean up space debris?

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):

TBD

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 ISS National Lab 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 public forms. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org.

Thank you & 73,

David - AA4KN