An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Kline School, Costa Mesa, CA on 06 Dec. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 20:00 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between OR4ISS and IK1SLD. The contact should be audible over Italy 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.
Kline School is a small private school serving children ages 5 to 14. Each of the classrooms accommodates an average of 8-10 students and is equipped with SMART Boards and networked computers. All students have access to technology 100% of the time using personal computers and laptops at their individual desks. Using Kline School's web-based curriculum students study space exploration, space technologies, and amateur radio communications. A special focus is the year-long study of the Apollo program. Students participate meaningfully in discussions about the history and development of the International Space Station. Using the N.A.S.A. website they learn about the necessary adaptations to living in space. We think of the ARISS contact as the real world application of our students' studies of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
Participants will ask as many of the following questions (translated) as time allows:
1. Were you already a HAM operator before going into space or did you learn
so you could become part of the ARISS program?
2. How do you re-position the ISS if you need to change its orbit or dodge
some space junk?
3. Are you permitted to move about the space station at will or do some
areas require clearance?
4. Is there a math concept that when you were learning it you said "What
will I ever use this for" that you now find yourself using regularly
aboard the space station?
5. What specialized training do you receive to prepare for EVAs?
6. If you were able to see the solar eclipse on November 13-14, what did it
look like?
7. Are any aircraft within the earth's atmosphere visible and if so, is this
of any value?
8. As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the last lunar landing mission,
Apollo 17, what achievements do you anticipate us celebrating 40
years from now?
9. When you work on projects with astronauts from other countries do the
language differences cause any problems?
10. In your free time, have you ever made an important "accidental"
discovery?
11. What is the emergency medical plan for a serious illness or injury?
12. Is it difficult to readjust to walking in 1-G on earth after months in
micro-gravity?
13. Are you able to see shooting stars?
14. Do the 30 second periods of weightlessness aboard the "Vomit Comet"
adequately prepare you for the long durations of micro-gravity?
15. If you could write your own space mission, what would it be?
16. Are there any experiments that started with the Apollo program that you
are still carrying out today?
17. When performing Crew Earth Observation experiments, do you see any
weather phenomena that are undetectable from earth?
18. Are the computers aboard the ISS like our PCs and MACs or are they more
sophisticated?
19. Do you access the Internet the same way we do on earth?
20. If there is a solar flare event, do you take special precautions?
Information about the upcoming ARISS contacts can be found at http://www.ariss.org/upcoming.htm#NextContact.
Next planned event(s):
TBD
ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the participating space agencies, NASA, Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES, JAXA, and CSA, with the AMSAT and IARU organizations from participating countries.
ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crewmembers on-board the International Space Station. Teachers, parents and communities see, first hand, how Amateur Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize youngsters' interest in science, technology, and learning. Further information on the ARISS program is available on the website http://www.ariss.org/ (graciously hosted by the Radio Amateurs of Canada).
Thank you & 73,
David - AA4KN