Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact with astronauts. ARISS is the Group that puts together special amateur radio contacts between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses on the International Space Station. (ISS)
The contact was live streamed by the GRHub Network onto Echolink (ZS1I-L), AllStar (49355) and the 145.550 Mhz Simplex Link in the Mossel Bay area as scheduled for February 28, 2022 at 9:43 am EST ( Virginia, USA), (14:43:53 UTC, 8:43 am CST, 7:43 am MST and 6:43 am PST 16:43:53 SAST) .
Unfortunately from now on there will be no recorded audio file available on the Blog of the contact. I encourage radio amateurs to connect to ZS1I-L on Echolink or 49355 on AllStar to listen to future contacts. Future contacts will be advertised on Echolink as "ISS contact 16h43 SAST" or on the GRHub Network Blog
It was a telebridge contact via amateur radio and students took turns asking their questions to Astronaut Thomas Marshburn, amateur radio call sign KE5HOC. Local Covid-19 protocols were adhered to as applicable for each ARISS contact. The downlink frequency for this contact was 145.800 MHZ and may have been heard by listeners that are within the ISS-footprint that also encompasses the telebridge station in the USA.
Amateur radio operators in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA used the call sign K6DUE to serve as the ARISS relay amateur radio ground station (telebridge station).
As time allowed, students asked these questions:
1. What made you want to live in space?
2. How do you not run out of food and where does it come from?
3. Have any animals ever been on board the ISS?
4. How do you return to Earth?
5. What meals do you eat in space?
6. What is your helmet made of and how does it work?
7. How many miles does the ISS travel in a day?
8. What do you do when you are not performing experiments or working on equipment?
9. When you return back to Earth, do you experience any side effects from being in space for 6 months?
10. What scientific discoveries have you made on board the ISS?
11. What have you learned while on board the ISS?
12. What is a goal you have during your mission?
13. What kind of weather do you experience on board?
14. How do you get water?
15. What equipment do you need for a spacewalk?
16. What does the moon look like from the ISS?
17. Do you have doctors on board to help when you get sick or injured?
18. How long does it take to get used to sleeping on a wall?
19. How did it feel traveling up to the ISS?
20. How do you train to live in a low gravity environment?
About ARISS:
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) and NASA’s Space communications and Navigation program. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics. ARISS does this by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before, during and after these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities take part in hands-on learning activities tied to space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org .
