An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Istituto Tecnico Industriale "Galileo Ferraris", San Giovanni Valdarno, Italy on 16 Dec. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 16:28 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between IR0ISS and IQ5GX. 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 Italian.

The Technical Institute "Galileo Ferraris" is active on the territory of the Arno Valley since 1979 and has trained over the years the engineers of the many industrial enterprises in the area.

The technical institute in fact offers a solid general education and training of scientific and technical basis necessary for both a rapid entry into the world of work and the professions and for the continuation of studies at university . In particular, enables the student to face the entrance test for the various scientific disciplines .. Its strength lies in teaching laboratory accompanied by a solid theoretical and scientific .

Branches of study offered the institute is currently divided into the following specializations:

.. Electronics and electrical engineering.

.. Chemistry, Materials and Biotechnology

.. Data processing and telecommunications

The time is for all specializations of 32 hours per week , spread over four days per week of five hours (from 8.10 am to 13.10) and two days a week for six hours (from 8.10 am to 14.10 ) .

The school is equipped with several laboratories and a large gym . Among these , for the two years , we have the laboratories of Physics, Chemistry , Drawing- CAD , Computer Science , for the three years, Chemistry, Electronics, Electrical Engineering , Computer Science, Mathematics , Technology Design and Planning , Automatic Systems , Information systems .

In addition, the active school every year internships at companies in the area and technical projects in cooperation with such companies .

Participants will ask as many of the following questions (translated) as time allows:

1. What should I do if I wanted to become an astronaut? I mean what

educational path should I follow, which degree would be the best to

take, in your opinion?

2. Do you have particular memories you would like to share with us?

3. Why is it important going to the outer space? Is it more important to

spend money on space missions than on other fields?

4. How many crew members are there with you? Have you been trained also to

get along well to each other?

5. How long does it take you to regain all your physical ability when you

come back to Earth?

6. What types of experiments are you currently running? Which are the most

useful for mankind?

7. What do you do when you get sick in space? Do you need a doctor on board

the ISS?

8. Have you ever been scared to fly in space?

9. How long are the missions?

10. What is the strangest question you have been asked by students?

11. Do you believe that someday man will discover other planets that support

life?

12. How often do micro- meteoroids collide with your space shuttle? How

difficult is to avoid them?

13. Will it be possible for astronauts to land on other planets in the

future?

14. How is the International Space Station able to keep in contact with the

Mission Control Center?

15. What type of antennas do you use for it?

16. What kind of operating system do you use in the space station?

17. What are your daily tasks in the space station and how do you spend your

free time?

18. What kind of training do you need to become an astronaut?

19. How long did it take you to reach your destination orbit?

PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES:

Sign up for the SAREX maillist at

http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/sarex

Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the

International Space Station (ARISS).

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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

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