It was an Amateur Radio two-for-one special March 7 when International Space Station Science Officer Don Pettit, KD5MDT, spoke with students at technology-oriented schools in Italy and in Texas. The contacts with NA1SS on board the ISS were arranged as part of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program.
Questions from students at the Malignani Technical-Industrial High School (IV3FLG) in Cervignano-del-Friuli, Italy, covered many topics.
“Don Pettit explained that the space station uses a variety of radio frequencies, from VHF to microwave communication via satellite,” reported ARISS Mentor Peter Kofler, IN3GHZ. “He enjoys taking pictures of different areas of Earth. He also explained that it takes about eight and a half minutes to get from the surface of the earth into orbit, and it takes about another day and a half to reach the space station.”
Kofler said the ISS 2-meter downlink signal was “absolutely clear and loud” for the entire 10-minute QSO, dropping out just as Pettit was answering the 14th question.
Maurizio Grendene, IV3ZCX, served as operator at the school station. A team from a local Amateur Radio club set up the necessary antennas as well as two 23-cm amateur television links with two other area schools in the area. “This increased the audience from the 100 students at Malignani to a total of about 600,” Kofler said.
A TV station and several newspapers covered the ARISS event, Kofler added.
That same morning, aerospace students in Texas also were able to quiz an aerospace professional in space via Amateur Radio. Ten sixth, seventh and eighth graders at Krueger Middle School of Applied Technologies http://www.neisd.net/ksat/ksat.htm in San Antonio asked two questions apiece of Pettit via the school’s club station, KD5OMG.
“It couldn’t have gone better!” exclaimed Coordinating Teacher James Goslin, KJ5QB. Student Daniel Sheehan described the 10-minute ARISS QSO as “pretty cool!”
Pettit fielded questions such as, “How do you maintain breathable air?” and “Once you’re done with your solar panels, how much energy will you be pulling in?” Students also wanted to know what the crew was attempting to grow in its plant experiments and how they were turning out.
Putting technical issues aside, student Brooklynne Jackson asked the now almost-inevitable food question: “Does the food taste gross up there?” Pettit laughed and assured her that the food was “great.” He told her that he was looking forward to his next meal in a couple of hours and that chili stew was on the menu.
The late-morning QSO was over much too quickly for the students, but teacher Goslin, who is Krueger’s applied radio-satellite communications teacher, continued the culinary theme by making sure that pizzas, ordered earlier, were still on the way. Goslin teaches ham radio to five classes per day, and in the past two years, he’s helped 52 students get their ham tickets.
Reporters and camera crews from two local television stations covered the ARISS contact. ARISS is an international program with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.–Peter Kofler, IN3GHZ; Gene Chapline, K5YFL