ARISS CONTACT WITH FRENCH SCHOOLS OF ST MARD

The ARISS School Contact, scheduled with the “College Georges Brassens of Saint Mard” and the “Jacques Prevert” school, was a succes.

The two schools of Saint-Mard, located at 45 km to the North-East of Paris (France), were in direct radio contact with Mike Foale on board the International Space Station on April 1st, 2004 from 18:27 to 18:37 UTC, i.e. 20:27 to 20:37 local time. The QSO was done by F0EJN Catherine with the technical assistance of the team led by F5CAR Jocelyn, comprising F6AGR Jean-Louis, F4ASA Gerald, F1GYH Bernard, F6EIR Arnaud et F0EFM Hervé.

The teachers, parents, VIP’s and media who assisted to the radio contact could see the excitement and wonder in the eyes of the students. The contact was relayed by ATV to the school’s main hall where an audience of about 150 assisted. In the radio room only the technical and educational team as well as the students who participated to the educational project were admitted.

Ten questions were answered by Mike Foale, KB5UAC who started the contact by a great “Bonjour”. The contact ended by a loud thank you and greetings were sent to Alexander Kaleri, U8MIR.

The teachers and the students of the two schools are very grateful to the individuals and to the organisations involved in the preparation of the Space talk. : AMSAT France, ARISS-Europe, ARISS International and NASA.

After this unique experience and as a conclusion to the educational project, the students of the scientific workshop SYNTHESE 3D (AST), now are required to create a CD ROM reviewing the various activities including those related to the ARISS contact.

For ten minutes, the Jacques Prévert school and the Georges Brassens college were honored to welcome an astronaut in their classroom.

Gaston Bertels

ARISS-Europe chairman

St Mard audio