ARISS News Release

ARISS Contact Scheduled for Students, Faculty at i-Educate Conference, Hosted by Queensland Government Department of Education, Brisbane, Australia

August 20, 2020—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).

This will be a telebridge contact via amateur radio and students will take turns asking their questions of ISS Commander Chris Cassidy, amateur radio call sign KF5KDR. There will be a live closed video link, and 500 educators tied into the conference will watch the students. Fred Kemmerer, call sign AB1OC, in New Hampshire (USA) will serve as the relay ground station. Shane Lynd, call sign VK4KHZ in Australia will be the moderator. Bob Pitman, call sign VK4DA in Australia will distribute live audio via Echolink *HAM* 69556, IRLP 9556, and AllStar 48820 49903.

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for August 24, 2020 at 7:32 pm in Brisbane (09:32 UTC, 5:32 am EDT, 4:32 am CDT, 03:32 am MDT and 02:32 am PDT).

This contact is in conjunction with the online i-Educate 2020 Conference sponsored by the Department of Education, Queensland Government in Brisbane, Australia. The purpose of the weeklong conference is for school digital leaders to present interactive solutions in online workshop settings to demonstrate to educators and school staff how to enrich technology-learning outcomes in classrooms and increase STEM availability awareness in schools.

_____________________________ .

As time allows, students will ask these questions:

1. What was the main ambition or reason for going to the ISS in the first place?
2. What was it like see space for the first time?
3. Do you ever have arguments?
4. Did you have any issues (personal, technical) whilst flying up towards the ISS?
5. Was your childhood dream being a pilot and this is the progression, or did you always dream of going into space?
6. What mindset do you need to have to be an astronaut?
7. How did you become interested in being an astronaut?
8. Circa what year do you predict space hotels will be physically possible to achieve? And do you think these space stations are the first steps towards developing said hotels?
9. When you are in space, you orbit the Earth incredibly fast. Because of this, has your perception of time changed since being in space? If so, how is it different?
10. How do you keep personal hygiene up to standards e.g. how you go for a shower/bath, toilet, and shaving?
11. Have you had a life threatening experience on the space station?
12. How does it feel to be isolated in space, knowing there isn’t anyone else around you except yourself and fellow crew mates?
13. During your launch windows there have been several technical delays, how do you deal with the build-up and then let down of your emotions in these events?
14. What will you miss the most about life on the ISS when you return to Earth?
15. You were a Navy Seal, what brought you across to NASA and spaceflight?
16. What is it like going on a spacewalk for the first time?
17. How do you maintain a positive mindset and good mental health in space, for example with the global pandemic of COVID-19 how are you coping with being such a distance away from the people you love and care about?
18. What were your emotions during lift off?

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, 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 by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see this Link

Media Contact:
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR

Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Search on Amateur Radio on the ISS and @ARISS_status.

Page Last Updated: Friday, 21 Aug 2020 at 17:10 hours by Robert Broomhead

Click Here To Return To Previous Page