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 Previous: ARRL Seeks FCC Review, Reversal of Wireless Bureau PRB-1 Denial |  Next: The K7VVV Solar Update |
NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 22, 2000--It was a historic moment for Amateur Radio. Some 200 youngsters, teachers, parents, and news media representatives were on hand at Luther Burbank Elementary School near Chicago December 21 to witness the first successful Amateur Radio on the International Space Station school contact.
Burbank School students queue up to await their turn to ask their question of Space Station Alpha Commander William "Shep" Shepherd. [Mark Skowronski, K9MQ, Photo] |
The third time was indeed the charm, as several pupils plus one teacher got to chat with Space Station Alpha Commander William "Shep" Shepherd, KD5GSL, via ham radio. Two earlier attempts by the school on December 19--one of them an unofficial try not scheduled by NASA--did not work out, despite the extensive technical preparations.
On December 21, however, Shepherd, using the special NA1SS call sign, came right back to a call from veteran SAREX/ARISS mentor Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, at the school. Sufana and his ARISS team had spent the better part of two weeks setting up gear and antennas for the scheduled contact. Antenna setup was hampered by repeated snowstorms and frigid temperatures, but the efforts paid off.
Second grader David Valdez--shown here being interviewed by a TV crew--asked the crew who controls the ISS when the crew is asleep (Answer: Ground stations in Houston and Moscow). [Mark Skowronski, K9MQ, Photo] |
"I'm happy that we were able to pull it off," Sufana said today. "The kids were bouncing off the walls."
For the first time, live audio of an ARISS contact was made available on the Web via MSNBC.
| Listen to the students making contact with NA1SS. (5MB audio file) |
During the 10-minute pass, 14 first through eighth graders plus science and math teacher Rita Wright got a chance to pose questions about life aboard Space Station Alpha to Shepherd.
"I think the most favorite thing about being on space station is just the ability to float around in space," Shepherd said in response to one student's question. "It's like you're not moving at all. You're just like in a pool and you can move anywhere you want, but there's no water in it."
Shepherd said the crew is keeping detailed logs about life on the space station. He said the crew was enjoying taking pictures of Earth from space, "because you can see things that you can't see from the ground." He also was asked about recycling aboard the ISS. Shepherd explained that about 90 percent of water in the air inside the space station is recovered and reused.
At the conclusion of the successful contact, the grateful crowd applauded loudly and offered up a hearty "thank you!" and "73!" to Shepherd and his Russian crewmates.
"Well it's a great pleasure to talk with you," Shepherd said. He also told Wright that he enjoyed her description, sent earlier via e-mail, of the school's preparations for the contact. "To me it was one of the finest examples of why we have a space program," he said.
ARISS mentor Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, prepares for the big moment at Burbank Elementary School. [Mark Skowronski, K9MQ, Photo] |
Shepherd signed off by saying that he enjoyed the chat and was looking forward to more school QSOs with youngsters around the country. Another two dozen schools are under consideration for ARISS school contacts. Schools in Virginia and New York are tentatively scheduled for contacts next month.
Sufana's ARISS crew had installed two complete radio systems at the school. The primary station was a Yaesu FT-847 to a 150-W amplifier and a Cushcraft Oscar 20-element antenna. Backing that up was an ICOM IC-746 to a 150-W amp feeding a Cushcraft Oscar 10-element antenna.
Sufana said that after the QSO, he and his team again braved the elements--temperatures around zero--to take down the antenna systems they'd installed atop the school building.
More information about requesting dedicated contacts is available on the ARISS web pages.
| Previous: ARRL Seeks FCC Review, Reversal of Wireless Bureau PRB-1 Denial | Next: The K7VVV Solar Update |
