An International Space Station Expedition 15 ARISS school contact has been planned with students at the Challenger Learning Center of Lucas County, Oregon, Ohio, USA, on 25 July. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 11:38 UTC.

The contact will be a direct between stations NA1SS and KB9UPS. The contact should be audible in southern portions of Canada and eastern portions of the United States. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English.

Additional listening options are listed below:

IRLP - Connect to the IRLP reflector 9010. You may also connect via the IRLP Discovery website at http://www.discoveryreflector.ca/listen.htm.

Our Challenger Learning Center (CLC) is part of a network of over 51 Centers throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Each Center is owned and operated locally by a host institution, which in our case is Lucas County Educational Service Center. These Challenger Learning Centers are the primary component of the Challenger Center for Space Science Education founded by the families of the astronauts tragically lost during the launch of the Challenger Space Shuttle in January 1986. Dedicated to the educational spirit of that mission, each Challenger Learning Center continues the mission through a unique hands-on learning experience in which students use math, science, teamwork, problem-solving, responsible decision-making, and communication skills to successfully complete a simulated space mission.

Since our opening in the fall of 2003, we have trained over 400 teachers and have flown over 480 missions. The Challenger Learning Center mission focuses on students in grades 5 and above. Over 12,000 students have successfully accomplished missions to the moon or Mars; nearly 1,500 community members and corporate staff have flown.

Students will ask as many of the following questions as time allows:

1. What kind of fuel is used to power the space station? 2. What is your favorite thing about being an astronaut? 3. How is oxygen maintained in the ISS and what type of backup system is in place should a problem be encountered? 4. In your opinion, will people ever explore other planets and galaxies? 5. Do you think you'll ever go Mars? 6. Is it the same sleeping in space or do you have difficulty getting to sleep? 7. Were you there when something went wrong and were you able to fix it? 8. What other nationalities of astronauts do you work with and what language do you use? 9. What one factor you have experienced while living on the ISS has surprised you the most? 10. What was your favorite class and who was your favorite teacher in school? 11. Do you like being in zero gravity and what is it like? 12. When you where my age, what inspired you to become an astronaut? 13. What was the hardest part of your astronaut training? 14. What kind of food do you eat on the Space Station? 15. How does the Space Station keep from falling to the ground? 16. What do you do if you get sick or hurt on the ISS? 17. What is it like living in a space station, and how long are you there? 18. What is it like to be away from your family for so long? 19. Does the environment in space effect electronic equipment? 20. How do you handle home sickness? 21. What's it like in space? 22. Are the tools you use the same as on Earth and if not how are they different? 23. How do you train for your Space walks? 24. Do you have any free time and what do you do with it? 25. With all the satellites in orbit, how do you keep from running into things? 26. Why do you feel it is worth the risk to go to Space? 27. In going to space for the first time, what surprised you the most? 28. What experiment that you have done in space was the most fun? 29. Can you describe how it feels to be weightless? 30. In all of your training to become an astronaut, what has been the most fun? 31. How do you know if the Space Station is on course? 32. Do you like doing the space walks and how does it feel to you?

Information about the next scheduled ARISS contact can be found at http://www.rac.ca/ariss/upcoming.htm#NextContact .

Next planned event(s):

21st World Scout Jamboree, Hylands Park, Chelmsford, England direct via GB100J, Sat 2007-08-04 21:10 UTC

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,

Stephen Ponder - N5WBI