ARISS News Release                                                                                        No.21-14

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

aa4kn@amsat.org

FORIMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARISSContact is Scheduled with Students at Newcastle High School, Newcastle, Wyoming, USA

February27, 2021—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has receivedschedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact with astronauts. ARISS is thegroup that puts together special amateur radio contacts between students aroundthe globe and crew members with ham radio licenses on the International Space Station (ISS).

This will be a Multipoint Telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio between the ISS and students fromNewcastle High School. Students will take turns asking their questions of ISS astronautMike Hopkins, amateur radio call sign KF5LJG, during the ARISS radiocontact. The downlink frequency forthis contact is 145.800 MHz. Since the first ARISS contact on December21, 2000, this will be the first ARISS-sponsored contact to a Wyoming school.

ARISS team member David Payne, using call signNA7V in Portland, OR will serve as the relay amateur radio station. Each student asking a question willbe conferenced in from home or social-distanced at school.

TheARISS radio contact is scheduled for March 1, 2021 at 9:20 am MST (Newcastle, WY)(16:20 UTC, 11:20 pm EST, 10:20 am CST, 8:20 am PST).

Newcastle High School (grades 9 – 12) is a rural, public school, and part of theWeston County Public School District, which serves students (grades K-12, ages5-18) in communities in the county in northeastern Wyoming. Newcastle HS offerscollege preparatory courses, a concurrent/dual enrollment college class programas well as a vocational-technical training program. Newcastle HS’s amateur radioclub includes activities that allow students to learn how to operate ham radiosand build antennas with curriculum tie-in to the school’s mathematics andscience classes. Student activities (involving students in grades K-12) priorto the ARISS contact were designed to increase awareness and interest in amateurradio, and STEM education, and to foster an appreciation for STEM in a student’sfuture career choices. The school has partnered with members of the North EastWyoming Amateur Radio Association (NE7WY) who will provide technical supportduring this contact.

ARISSinvites the public to view the live stream of the upcoming ARISS radio contactat https://youtu.be/qdQlKQK5mT4.

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Astime allows, students will ask these questions:

1.How long did it take you to fully adjust to being on the ISS?

2.What effects have you experienced from zero gravity?

3.What do you folks do for fun? Boardgames? Play catch in space?

4.What is the most interesting thing you have seen on a spacewalk?

5.What happens when you fly into the South Atlantic Anomaly?

6.What is the most important lesson you’ve learned from your time in space?

7.What types of organisms do you grow or use in space?

8.I am asking a question for our 2nd grade class. How big is the InternationalSpace Station and what is inside? Are there bedrooms, gym, kitchen?

9.Is it weird not being able to experience night and day the same as you would onearth?

10.What research is currently being conducted? Is it biological?

11.Have you ever lost something on a spacewalk?

12.Since Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome can affect mission success,does the research currently being conducted on the retina of mice take priorityover other experiments?

13.What is the weirdest solution to a problem that you have tried that actuallyworked?

14.What is the most dangerous aspect about living and working in space?

15.What is the most exciting thing you have experienced so far?

ARISS – Celebrating 20Years of Amateur Radio Continuous Operations on the ISS

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, sponsorsare the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio RelayLeague (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, and NASA’s SpaceCommunications and Navigation program. The primary goal of ARISS is to promoteexploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematicstopics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew membersaboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students,educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, andamateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org

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MediaContact:

DaveJordan, AA4KN

ARISSPR

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