ARISS News Release                                                                                              No.  21-12

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

aa4kn@amsat.org

FORIMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARISS ContactScheduled

for Studentsat John F. Kennedy High School, Denver, Colorado, USA

February 20, 2021—AmateurRadio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received scheduleconfirmation for an ARISS radio contact with astronauts. ARISS is the groupthat puts together special amateur radio contacts between students around theglobe and crew members with ham radio licenses on the International Space Station (ISS).

This will be a telebridge contact via amateur radio and studentsfrom John F. Kennedy High School in Denver, CO,following Covid guidelines. Students will take turns asking their questions of Astronaut Mike Hopkins, amateur radio call sign KF5LJG during the ARISS radio contact. The downlink frequency for this contact is145.800 MHZ.

ARISS team member David Payne, using call signNA7V in Portland, OR will serve as the relay amateur radio station.

The ARISS radio contact isscheduled for February 24, 2021 at 11:41 am MST (Denver, CO), (18:41 UTC, 1:41 pm EST, 12:41pm CST, and 10:41 am PST).

John F. KennedyHigh School (about 900 students) is a public school in urban, southwest Denver.JFK HS offers Advanced Placement Courses and Concurrent Enrollment Courses thathelp students to earn college credit and industry certification in high school.During the 2019-20 year, the Engineering program at JFK HS was awarded afirst-of-its-kind JFK Space Lab presented by Raytheon to commemorate the 50-yearanniversary of the launch of Apollo 11. The Space Lab allowed students in theschool’s Engineering program to explore the ISS-above cameras, observereal-time space walks, explore amateur radio, and engineering communications. Theschool’s partnership with Raytheon, and using the Space Lab materials, enabledJFK HS students to engage in a STEM curriculum that included activities/topicsthat were applicable to space engineering, specifically to the ISS. These activitiesincluded, building a solar and hydrogen fuel cell car (and how it could be appliedto the ISS); Bioengineering (growing plants in space); and solar-systemmodeling. STEM courses also included hands-on kit-building activities relatedto amateur radio and antenna-building and radio direction-finding. The schoolalso partnered with members of the Rocky Mountain Ham Radio group and theCherry Creek Young Amateur Radio Club who instructed/mentored students on theuse of radio communications using amateur radio.

The public is invited to watch the livestream at: https://youtu.be/1RgszX0npbQ

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Astime allows, students will ask these questions:

1. How do you find time to do personalhygiene when you are so busy doing research and experiments?

2. Does a carbonated beverage, once opened,on the ISS stay carbonated for the same amount of time as it does on earth?

3. We recently learned that each astronauteagerly awaits a special package from earth, What is it that you look forward tomost?

4. Are there any environmental sensors likeweather, fire, soil, ocean that you monitor or track as part of your dailywork?

5. What is the most physically demanding taskyou have to do in space?

6. What was going through your head when youfirst found out you were chosen for the mission to the ISS?

7. How comfortable are the new spacesuits.  What is your favorite new featureof the space suit?

8. Do you have to monitor/ration your waterwhile in space?

9. Have you ever had to perform a medical procedureor administer first aid to another astronaut?

10. How do you relieve stress when on thespace station?

11. When you are sleeping in your bag do youfeel like you are floating or do you anchor yourself down?  Is this comfortable?

12. When in space, do you take specialprecautions regarding safety during a space walk?

13. Did your training accurately prepare youfor the stresses of launch?

14. What is your preferred form of exerciseon earth & is it something you can continue to do on the ISS?

15. How long did it take you to get used tothe bathroom facilities and procedures on the ISS? What was the hardest part?

16. If there was one plant you could grow inthe International Space Station what would it be and why?

17. Have you ever had a malfunction with yourspace suit? What did you do?

18. How has COVID-19 changed your spacetravel?

19. When will it be possible for astronautsto be able to live off of the food that they grow in space?

20. If you could create a more comfortablesleeping quarters what is the one thing you would change?

21. How much of the water on the ISS goes tothe plants?

22. What was the most important thing youlearned in school that has helped you as an astronaut?

23. Do the astronauts eat meals and do othernon-work activities together?

24. Has there ever been a time when youcollected data from a sensor that helped an emergency situation on Earth?

25. How does it feel to breathe while you arewearing your pressurized suit?

26. Are there any of your favorite foods thatdon’t do well in microgravity and you miss eating while you are in space?

ARISS – Celebrating 20 Years of Amateur Radio Continuous 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

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MediaContact:

DaveJordan, AA4KN

ARISSPR

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