Youngsters at Sacajawea Middle School in Bozeman, Montana, conversed via ham radio on January 8 with International Space Station resident Don Pettit, KD5MDT. The contact between NA1SS and the school club station’s K7BZN was the first Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) QSO this year with a US school.
“I am happy to say that it was a grand success,” said Vivian Linden, K7CUB, a retired science teacher who continues to serve as advisor to the school’s Amateur Radio club. “The contact was crystal clear, the kids did a great job with their questions, and the adult ham club–the Gallatin Ham Radio Club–put it all together.”
Some young radio amateurs were among the student questioners. Arianna Haines, KD7RHA, wanted to know if Pettit had any radio experience before becoming an astronaut and if it influenced his decision to become one. Pettit explained that he became a ham only after joining the astronaut corps.
Jeff Nickelson, KD7TQL, asked Pettit how he was chosen to be an ISS crew member. “You get chosen for the ISS program partly based on interest and partly based on who they happen to need for the mission involved,” Pettit replied. “So they look at background, and they look at interest.”
Nickelson later expressed a desire to become an astronaut and asked Pettit’s advice on what he should do now. “What you need to do is to follow what you want to do in your heart,” Pettit responded. He also advised the youngsters to do their best in school and to keep up their grades.
Food is never far from the minds of most youngsters, and so it was with the kids at Sacajawea Middle School. One student wanted to know how the crew ate and how the food was cooked. Pettit explained that it’s not that much different from pre-packaged food on Earth. “We eat with spoons, just like you eat with spoons on Earth,” said Pettit. Most of the crew’s food is freeze-dried. You add hot water and mix, then “just dig in with your spoon,” Pettit said.
Pettit also told the youngsters that the crew doesn’t have too much time for “fun” activities. “There’s really not much spare time up here,” he said. “We’re always working.” But, he added, the crew does get enjoyment out of the work it does, which sometimes includes just observing Earth through one of the ISS portholes.
Some 50 youngsters, teachers and a handful of reporters were on hand for the contact. Linden said audio was piped throughout the school. “I was told later that the school was in a buzz the rest of the day,” she said. Students from Morning Star Elementary School also attended.
ARISS is an international project with support from ARRL, NASA and AMSAT.
For more information, visit the ARISS Web site
http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov