An International Space Station Expedition 17 ARISS school contact has been planned with participants at the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, Orlando, Florida, USA on 21 April. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 17:48 UTC.
The contact will be a telebridge between stations NA1SS and W6SRJ. The contact should be audible over most of the Western USA. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English. Audio from the QSO is planned to be fed into the EchoLink *AMSAT* (101 377) and *JK1ZRW* (277 208) servers during the contact.
Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children is located in Orlando, Florida. It is one of 8 hospitals under the Orlando Regional Healthcare umbrella and addresses the unique medical needs of children in the Central Florida area, including a level one trauma center. The children who participate in this contact will be patients at the hospital. It will be an exciting surprise and enriching experience that will make their hospital stay a memorable event.
Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows:
1. What kind of food do you eat, and is it good? 2. How long can you stay out on a spacewalk? 3. What experiments are you doing in space? 4. What duties are yours on the Space Station? 5. How do you communicate with your family? 6. What do you do if you get sick in space? 7. What can you see on Earth from Space? 8. How long will the Space Station last? 9. What skills do I need to be an astronaut? 10. What is your favorite thing to do on the Space Station? 11. How does the Space Station stay in orbit? 12. How does the air stay fresh on the Space Station? 13. If an object hits the Space Station, what would you do? 14. What was your launch in the shuttle like? 15. How much water do you use, and how do you get it? 16. Do the solar panels provide all the power for the Space Station? 17. How many computers do you use on the Space Station? 18. When and how will you return to Earth? 19. How do you exercise in space? 20. How many persons can stay on the Space Station?
Information about the upcoming ARISS contacts can be found at http://www.rac.ca/ariss/upcoming.htm#NextContact . Packet is transmitted on 145.825 simplex.
Next planned event(s): 1. Star City School, Shchelkovo, Russia - Mon 2008-04-23 09:24 UTC via ON4ISS
2. The National Air and Space Museum (NASM), Washington, DC - Sat. 2008-05-03 15:52 UTC via NN1SS
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.rac.ca/ariss (graciously hosted by the Radio Amateurs of Canada).
Thank you & 73, Kenneth - N5VHO