Former NASA Astronaut Visits Missouri School as Kids Talk via Ham Radio with the ISS:

Former NASA astronaut Linda Godwin, N5RAX, was on hand March 5 asyoungsters at Rock Bridge Elementary School in Columbia, Missouri,spoke with NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG, aboard theInternational Space Station (ISS). The Amateur Radio on theInternational Space Station (ARISS http://www.ariss.org) programsponsored the contact. Hopkins, a native of Missouri who returned toEarth on March 10, was at the helm of NA1SS on the space station. Onthe ground, members of the Central Missouri Radio Association (CMRAhttp://www.k0si.net/), managed the technical aspects of bridging thegap between school and spacecraft. Once the contact got underwayshortly before 8 AM, 13 pupils chosen through a random drawing eachasked Hopkins two questions chosen from a prepared list.

"It's great to be talking with folks in my home state of Missouri,"Hopkins greeted the gathering as contact was made and signal reportsexchanged. Youngsters peppered him with questions on a wide array ofspace travel topics. "Zero gravity feels awesome!" he told the kids,although he conceded that it was "weird" at first. He said that viewingEarth from space was "humbling" as well as "incredible to see." He alsoexplained some of the negative impact that living in microgravity canhave on the human body over time, and he said that prior to going intospace, the astronauts get to try and rate all food items on a scale of1 to 10.

"The students understood that the ISS would be in range for less than10 minutes," said the CMRA's Bill McFarland, N0AXZ, who played "theastronaut" during a pre-contact practice session. Also helping with thecontact were club members Don Moore, KM0R -- who loaned his call signto the enterprise and served as control operator -- Myron Kern, W0ZH,and Justin Yesis, KL0VU. They had been preparing for the event over theprevious 6 months and provided the radio gear, rotators, antennas,mounting equipment, computers, and tracking software, as well aseverything in between. The club also worked with NASA. Audio of thecontact was piped into the school's public address system, so that theentire school could listen in on the 55 minute educational programhttp://cpstv.columbia.k12.mo.us/?p=485 built around the Amateur Radiocontact.

After the pass, the elementary schoolers spent the next 35 minutesquizzing Godwin, also a Missouri native, who has four space shuttlemissions and some space walks to her credit. She retired in 2010 andnow is a professor of physics at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Spearheading the entire project was Loretta Schouten, president of theRock Bridge Elementary School's PTA. "She had the idea, presented therequest to the CMRA, attended many of our club meetings, andcoordinated everything from the school to NASA applications anddocumentation, local officials and the media," McFarland said. "And sheis now studying for her Tech license!" The contact attracted coveragehttp://www.columbiatribune.com/news/education/rock-bridge-students-talk-to-astronaut-on-international-space-station/article_0a7ae394-a48d-11e3-855e-10604b9f6eda.htmlby the Columbia Daily Tribune newspaper.

ARISS lets students worldwide experience the excitement of talkingdirectly with crew members of the International Space Station,inspiring their interest in science, technology, engineering, and math,and engaging them with radio science and technology. Contactdjohnson@arrl.org ARRL ARISS Program Manager Debra Johnson, K1DMJ, ifyour school, local museum or other educational organization isinterested in participating in a scheduled ARISS contact during thefall 2014/spring 2015 period. An educational plan describing thelearning activities to be provided for the students leading up to andfollowing the contact is necessary. There is more informationhttp://www.arrl.org/amateur-radio-on-the-international-space-stationabout the ARISS program on the ARRL website.

ARISS is an international educational outreach with participation fromARRL, NASA http://www.nasa.gov/, ESA http://www.esa.int/ESA, theRussian Space Agency http://www.roscosmos.ru/ (ROSCOSMOS), CNEShttp://www.cnes.fr/web/CNES-en/7114-home-cnes.php, JAXAhttp://www.jaxa.jp/index_e.html, CSAhttp://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/Default.asp and AMSAThttp://ww2.amsat.org/. -- Thanks to Bill McFarland, N0AXZ,ColumbiaPublic Schools, and ARISS

Source:

The ARRL Letter