SUCCESSFUL ARISS CONTACT FOR Liceo Scientifico Galileo Galilei, Catania, Italy
Saturday June 22, 2013 at 14:57 UTC, i.e. 16:57 local time, students from Liceo Scientifico Galileo Galilei, Catania, Italy established ARISS contact with ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano, KF5KDP onboard the International Space Station.The astronaut operated with the ISS callsign NA1SS. This was a telebridge contact performed by Amateur radio ground station VK4KHZ, located in Queensland, Australia.
School presentation:
The Galileo Galilei school has a good reputation for the scientific activities and the laboratory teaching offered to the students. It’s a school with nearly 2000 students. Most of the students choose for Medicine or Engineering after graduation.
ARISS mentor Francesco De Paolis, IKØWGF proposed to contact coordinator Vito Consolo to set up a telebridge contact and this was accepted. The event took place in the school where an audience of more than 200 students, visitors and media participated. Before the contact, Eugenio Martinetti IT9VKY presented ARISS and explained how a contact with the ISS is performed via Ham Radio.
At 14:57 UTC, contact with NA1SS was established by ARISS telebridge ground station VK4KHZ. Telebridge operator Shane Lynd exchanged welcome greetings and presented the school to ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano, KF5KDP. Using the Ericsson radio in the Columbus Module, the astronaut answered 10 questions from the students, exchanged final greetings and closed the contact. During the pass, the signal from the ISS was loud and clear.
The event was covered by TV stations and by local newspapers.
Live Streaming video was available on:
http://www.livestream.com/AMSAT_Italia
Video of the contact is available also here:
http://www.livestream.com/amsat_italia/video?clipId=pla_24a411fa-ffdf-4a37-8580-9e9f09507633
ARISS contact was announced by web story on ESA Portal - National News:
Congratulations to the school, the IT9VKY team and ARISS telebridge station VK4KHZ.
73
Francesco De Paolis, IK0WGF
ARISS mentor
