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 Previous: The Amateur Amateur: Mobile Flambée |  Next: ISS Crew Chief May Be on the Air for JOTA |
NEWINGTON, CT, Oct 15, 2001--Youngsters at The Holy Spirit School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, recently quizzed International Space Station crew chief Frank Culbertson, KD5OPQ, on a variety of topics. The ham radio contact October 5 was arranged through the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station program. ARISS is jointly sponsored by the ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.
It took a couple of tries for a successful QSO. A direct contact with the ISS was not possible, so the Holy Spirit contact ultimately was handled via a WorldCom telephone linkup with Gerald Klatzko, ZS6BTD, in South Africa, who thanked Culbertson for giving up his lunch time to talk with the youngsters.
An initial attempt a day earlier via Tony Hutchinson, VK5ZAI, in Australia, came up dry. As it turned out, Culbertson was in the middle of a scheduled activity and could not break away for the contact. Now a big fan of the ARISS school QSOs, he requested that the contact be rescheduled as soon as possible.
"First, let me say I apologize for not being able to make it to the radio yesterday," Culbertson greeted the youngsters. "Thank you very much for coming in early to do this. I hope your 'Space Week' is going well."
Ten excited students ranging from third grade to eighth grade showed up at the school at around 6 AM to be on hand. When all was said and done, 18 questions were asked and answered before the ISS passed out of range of South Africa.
In response to a third grader's question about what it feels like to take off into space, Culbertson described the experience as "this big kick in the butt" that accelerates the space shuttle off the pad. "It's quite a ride. I love it," Culbertson said.
As representatives of the media looked on, other youngsters queried Culbertson about the effects of zero gravity on the human body. "You feel quite a bit different when you first get into space," Culbertson told the youngsters, adding that zero gravity affects the body in a number of ways.
In response to another question, he explained that investigating the long-term effects on the human body of living in space was a major focus of research aboard the ISS. "We want to learn how people can live more healthily in space for long periods of time," Culbertson said, "because if we're gonna ever go further than low-Earth orbit, like to Mars, we're going to have to be able to stay up there for a very long time."
Culbertson noted that humans have been living aboard the ISS for nearly a year now. The ISS consists of two air locks and five modules, including a lab and living quarters. "It's a pretty good-sized house now," he said.
Listen to the October 5 Holy Name School contact with the International Space Station: |
Culbertson said the crew members don't have a lot of spare time, but when he has a few extra minutes, he enjoys listening to music or watching movies, sometimes while also exercising. He said another of his favorite activities is just watching Earth go by.
One student gave Culbertson an opportunity to wax philosophical by asking what it's like to look down at what appears to be a peaceful planet "when it can be filled with so much violence."
"What I see from here is no real boundaries--artificial boundaries--but I see a good solid Earth that we need to take care of, and we need to live together in peace on," Culbertson responded.
Following the contact, Holy Spirit Principal Sharon Grant predicted a few future astronauts as well as a few future ham radio operators. "It was a great connection, a great contact," she said after the applause died down. The school had first applied for a contact with the shuttle astronauts more than four years ago.
ARRL member Jim Cordes, KI8JD, assisted the school to prepare for the contact, which was televised throughout the school.
Additional information on ARISS is available on the ARISS Web site
| Previous: The Amateur Amateur: Mobile Flambée | Next: ISS Crew Chief May Be on the Air for JOTA |
