14 April 2007

 

ARISS SCHOOL CONTACT PLANNED WITH REDMOND HIGH SCHOOL

 

Students from Redmond High School in Redmond, Washington, Charles Simonyi’s home town, plan to experience an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Monday, April 16 at 21:24 UTC.

 

The contact will be a telebridge between stations NA1SS and ON4ISS. NA1SS will be operated by Spaceflight Participant Charles Simonyi KE7KDP / HA5SIK. The contact should be audible all over Europe. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.800 MHz downlink. 

 

The ARISS EchoLink and IRLP teams will relay the audio from this contact. The contact will also be webcast courtesy of Verizon Conferencing.

 

EchoLink -  The audio will be available on the EchoLink *AMSAT*  (node 101 377) and the *JK1ZRW* (node 277 208) conference rooms. Please connect to the *JK1ZRW* server to keep the load light on the *AMSAT* server.  This will ensure good audio quality for all listeners.

 

IRLP -  Connect to the IRLP reflector 9010. 

You may also connect via the IRLP Discovery website  at

http://www.discoveryreflector.ca/listen.htm.

 

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

 

1. Maddison: What significance does space exploration have for you? (i.e. Why did you want to go?)

 

2. Katie: What was your biggest fear about space travel and living before you left?

 

3.  Catherine:  What was takeoff like? Did you feel a lot of pressure? Did it feel fast?

 

4. Kristin: What did you do during the two days it took to get to the space station?

 

5. Michael: What was the first thing you did in zero gravity?

 

6. Sandra: Can you see the Great Wall of China from space with your eyes?

 

7. Chelsea: What changes have you noticed in the shape or functioning of your body?

 

8. Gerard: What do you think when you look out the window and see the earth from space?

 

9. Kevin: When you look down on the earth, can you see the impact of humans?

 

10. Ashika: What is your sleep pattern aboard the ISS? Do you sleep eight hours straight?

 

11. Thomas: What personal items did you bring with you, and why?

 

12. Samuel: Did you wish to be a space traveler when you were still a kid?

 

13. Anna: When you were in training, was there a computer game or program given to you that helped you prepare?

 

14. Connor: What do you expect coming back from space to be after a week or two? Will it be hard to move?

 

15. Erick: Since there is no up and down in space, do you still get dizzy if you spin yourself around?

 

16. Ryan: Why do you think it is important for people to travel into space?

 

17. Saul: What does an astronaut / cosmonaut do for fun in space?

 

18. Jason: With which earth time zone is the ISS synchronized and why that particular one?

 

19. Eamaan: How much math is involved in becoming an astronaut?

 

20. Anthony: Why was your transportation to the space station facilitated by the Russian space program instead of NASA?

 

Please note, the amateur equipment on the ISS is not functioning in the automatic modes properly and may be silent more than usual.

 

ARISS, Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, an international working group of several amateur radio societies from countries participating to the ISS, provides a free educational outreach programme in collaboration with the Space Agencies, involving a worldwide team of volunteering amateur radio operators.

 

Gaston Bertels, ON4WF

ARISS-Europe chairman

http://www.ariss-eu.org