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 Previous: Surfin': X Marks the Spot on APRS Maps |  Next: ARRL, National Public Safety Telecommunications Council Ink Pact |
Students gather around the radio for the ARISS contact at University School in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Bob, K8RBV, was the control operator.
Backdropped by the University School campus are the antennas erected for the ARISS contact.
Expedition 14 Astronaut Suni Williams, KD5PLB, at work aboard the ISS.
An East Aurora Middle School student asks her question of Suni Williams. 
One East Aurora Middle School contact participant is interviewed by local TV stations. [Kris Ward Photo] "Of course, I miss my dog, and I've talked about that already," Williams told students at the private boys' school near Cleveland, "but secondly, I just miss having a cup of whatever -- milk or coffee or something you can take an Oreo and dunk it into. Just drinking out of a normal cup, rather than drinking out of a bag and a straw, is something that I really miss."
What Williams enjoys, among other activities, is being able to float in microgravity. "It's better than it looks," she told one questioner. Scheduled to remain aboard the ISS until this summer, Williams said there's always something to do aboard the ISS. "It's hard to get bored up here," she allowed. She said she's enjoying taking photos of Earth, enjoying the view from space and keeping in touch with her family and friends via e-mail.
CLICK HERE to listen to the contact between NA1SS and K8RBV at University School in Shaker Heights, Ohio [10:02]
CLICK HERE to listen to the contact between NA1SS and youngsters at East Aurora Middle School in New York [9:35]
On March 19, she chatted about life aboard the space outpost with grade 6-8 students at East Aurora (NY) Middle School. Youngsters there were interested in any precautions the ISS crew took in the event of a solar storm.
"If there are solar storms that are going to have a big effect on us, we will go to a part of the space station that's a little bit more protected -- some of the node areas that have different modules on different sides that would be a little more protected," Williams explained. "And that's tracked on the ground and predictions are made, and they will give us enough time so we'll be able to take cover as needed." Responding to another question, Williams noted that a "solar wind" can actually change the attitude of the ISS.
George "Buff" Hoffman, a retired US Air Force officer whom Williams knows, addressed the students prior to the event. Hoffman's son, Sam, attends the school and took part in the contact. "It was great to hear her voice, and the connection was superb," LTC Hoffman said afterward. "Kudos to ARISS."
Gerald Klatzko, ZS6BTD, in South Africa, served as the Earth station for the East Aurora contact. A Verizon Conferencing teleconferencing link provided two-way audio between ZS6BTD and the school. The event attracted media attention from three TV stations and one newspaper.
ARISS is an international educational outreach with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.
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