ARISS News Release                                                                                                No.   20-22

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

aa4kn@amsat.org

FORIMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARISSContact is Scheduled for

Ramona Lutheran Christian School, Ramona, CA

October13, 2020—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 direct contact via amateur radio between students at the Ramona Lutheran Christian School (RLCS) inRamona, CA and ISS Commander Chris Cassidy, amateur radio call signKF5KDR. The Ramona Outback Amateur Radio Society (ROARS) ham operators using call sign N6ROR will operatethe ground station for this contact. Students will take turns askingCassidy their questions.

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for October 14,2020 at 9:26 am PDT (Ramona) (16:26 UTC, 12:26 pm EDT, 11:26 am CDT and 10:26 am MDT).

RLCS (withstudents in preschool through sixth grade) is located in an unincorporatedmountain community approximately 40 miles northeast of San Diego. In additionto the school’s classical course curriculum, RLCS also involves students in STEM-enrichmentclub activities that include robotics, coding, physics, space-related sciences,and radio theory. In 2019, the Amateur Radio Relay League awarded RLCS an IcomIC-9700 radio built and designed for communications with amateur radiosatellites—resulting in the first school radio station in Ramona, and one solar-poweredthanks to equipment provided by ROARS. The ARISS contact will utilize thisset-up. ROARS members have helped students prepare for their ARISS contact and mentoredthem on amateur radio operating protocol including emergency communications andMorse code practice.

ARISS invites the public to view a livestream ofthe pre-action (join 20 minutes beforehand) and the upcoming ARISS radio contactat https://youtu.be/jDTydjM60_k.

_____________________________

Astime allows, students will ask these questions:

1. How has Expedition63 changed your outlook on life?

2. What is yourfavorite thing to look at in space?

3. What is mostdifficult when you are recovering from returning to Earth?

4. What does it feellike when you are on a spacewalk?

5. What was thestrangest thing that's happened to you while you were in space?

6. What is your favoriteactivity when you have free time on the ISS?

7. How likely do youthink it is that I will visit outer space in my lifetime, even if I neverbecome an astronaut?

8. What does it feellike to sleep on the ISS?

9. What mission wereyou most scared of?

10. What are yourfavorite experiences of Expedition 63?

11. What has beenyour favorite experiment on the ISS?

12. About how manyrepairs are made each week aboard the ISS?

13. What is yourfavorite game to play in space?

14. What are your 3favorite foods to eat while on the ISS?

15. What language hasbeen the most challenging to communicate aboard the ISS?

16. What food are youmost looking forward to eating when you get home?

17. What fear haveyou had regarding space?

18. What surprisesyou the most about how the ISS is today than when you were part of the assemblymission?

19. Which holidayshave you enjoyed celebrating on the ISS?

20. What's yourfavorite number of people aboard the ISS at one time?

21. Who was yourfavorite astronaut that you have met from another country?

22. What way(s) couldwe utilize space to help manage our problems with waste disposal on Earth?

23. Do you hope to goback to space or the moon in a commercial space suit via a commercial vehicle?

24. How do you useham radio on the ISS and after you return to Earth?

ARISS – Celebrating 20 Years of Continuous Amateur Radio Operations onthe 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

.

MediaContact:

DaveJordan, AA4KN

ARISSPR

Likeus on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Search on Amateur Radio on the ISS and@ARISS_status.