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 Previous: Amateurs Muster for Weather Emergencies |  Next: Indiana Jones Has Nothing on Us! Ham Radio--The Great World-Wide Adventure |
 Astronaut Dan Bursch, KD5PNU. [NASA Photo] |
NEWINGTON, CT, Apr 30, 2002--Astronaut Dan Bursch, KD5PNU, aboard the International Space Station, concedes that he and his crew mates sometimes get on each others' nerves. The comment came today as Bursch answered questions from an enthusiastic group of youngsters at Woodland Middle School on New York's Long Island.
"If you can imagine taking a long family trip and never getting out of the car for six months," Bursch said, replying to a question about whether he and his crew mates ever get frustrated or annoyed with each other. The three ISS crew members occasionally "bug each other" over little things, Bursch said, and when that happens, they usually go off and do something else by themselves.
Onboard with Bursch are Expedition 4 crew commander Yury Onufrienko, RK3DUO, and astronaut Carl Walz, KC5TIE. Visiting this week are space tourist Mark Shuttleworth of South Africa, cosmonaut Yuri Gidzeno of Russia and European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori, IZ6ERU, of Italy.
The Woodland contact was the first of two Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) school QSOs today--an ARISS first. After a missed schedule earlier in the day, a contact between Shuttleworth and South African students was promptly--and successfully--rescheduled.
Bursch also told the New York students that he enjoys the view of Earth from space. "We saw the Southern Lights several times, and we hope to see them again later on today," he noted.
Nearly five months in space have not blunted Bursch's sense of humor. "My personal primary goal is to make sure that my number of launches equals my number of landings," Bursch quipped when asked about the crew's primary goals. He said fostering international cooperation in constructing the ISS is an overarching objective. Education--including the ARISS school contacts and cooperating with student experiments--also is an important part of the ISS program, he said.
 Disappointment to delight: Students from 13 schools gathered in Kwazulu Natal province to speak via ham radio with space tourist Mark Shuttleworth. |
Among the experiments the crew is focusing on is physiological research into the neuromuscular and respiratory systems as well as into possible ways to prevent kidney stones. In addition, he said, he is conducting some experiments involving plant growth. "I planted some wheat just a few days ago, and it's already growing and almost to the top of the chamber," Bursch said.
His own relaxation activities involve listening to music, watching DVDs, e-mailing family and friends, and even weaving small "Nantucket baskets." While the crew does not have access to live TV sports, Bursch said the crew does get to see highlight tapes that are uploaded to the ISS.
Handling Earth station duties for the 10-minute contact was Mark Steiner, K3MS, at the controls of NN1SS at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.
A few hours after the Woodland contact, Shuttleworth was a no-show for a scheduled contact with students from more than a dozen schools in South Africa's in Kwazulu Natal province. Through a series of telephone calls, ARISS was able to reschedule the contact during a pass over Australia, have the Russian mission control center notify Shuttleworth and even arouse a sleeping Tony Hutchison, VK5ZAI, in South Australia to handle Earth-station duties.
Listen to the audio of the Woodland contact. [10:26] |
Shuttleworth was able to answer questions from five of the South African students, turning the earlier disappointment into delight. At least two additional ARISS schools involving Shuttleworth have been set for this week, making it the busiest ARISS schedule on record since the first crew came aboard the ISS in November 2000. On April 29, Shuttleworth told students at his alma mater in Cape Town that he's living his own dream in space.
Vittorio is scheduled to have an ARISS contact of his own this week with a school in Italy.
ARISS is an international project, with US
participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA. For more information, visit the ARISS Web site.
| Previous: Amateurs Muster for Weather Emergencies | Next: Indiana Jones Has Nothing on Us! Ham Radio--The Great World-Wide Adventure |
