ARISS Contact - Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School, Palmer, MA, direct via KB1MDS

Satellites & Observations ARISS Contacts
1

Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School, Palmer, MA, direct via KB1MDS
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled astronaut is Serena Aunon-Chancellor KG5TMT
Contact is a go for: Fri 2018-11-02 14:50:19 UTC 36 deg

Several stations were able to receive parts of the contact:

Map of the ground track, the above mentioned SatNOGS ground stations and the contact site:

map
map1366×626 135 KB

Live stream: Pathfinder ARISS (Amateur Radio International Space Station) Connection - YouTube and Pathfinder ARRIS Contact - YouTube

Congratulations and 73 to all!

More details about the contact from AMSAT-BB:

Click here for the details

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School, Palmer, MA on 02 Nov. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 14:50 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between NA1SS and KB1MDS. The contact should be audible over the state of Massachusetts and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.

This ARISS Project has become a school-wide endeavor here at Pathfinder capitalizing on our students’ interests in the trades and STEM subjects and giving them an interdisciplinary opportunity to apply their various skill sets. We have incorporated many of the technical areas to construct the radio station and prepare for the ARISS Contact and challenged our students to learn more about wireless technology and radio science. Many shops were directly involved, including Advanced Manufacturing, Auto Body, Business Technologies, CAD, Electrical, Electronics, HVAC/R, Programming and Web and many of the academic courses have been involved including the History, Math, and Science Departments. Students have helped build the radio station, advertise the event, solicit and narrow down questions for the astronauts, and document the entire process on the Web. Academic teachers have also incorporated the ARIIS project into their curriculums creating an engaging educational opportunity for the school. All involved have had the chance to learn more about space exploration, technology, and communications. This project has also become an opportunity for engagement with the larger community through work with local businesses, media, and amateur radio clubs. All of this work by the various stakeholders has led to this once in a lifetime opportunity for our all involved.

Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows:

  1. Our bodies are used to living with the force of gravity, how does living in micro-gravity affect the human body?

  2. How has seeing Earth from space impact your view on the world?

  3. With the amount of heat generated on the ISS, how do you dissipate heat into space when heat transfer through a vacuum is poor?

  4. How often do you refuel the propulsion system and what is the fuel?

  5. If you need to manufacture a part or tool on the ISS, how is this accomplished? Do you have any machines such as 3D-printers, mills, or drills to assist you?

  6. After reaching a professional goal of space travel, what piece of advice could you share with high school students who are navigating toward their future?

  7. Do you generate enough electricity to power everything on the ISS and if not, how do you compensate for the lack of power generated? How do you manage excess generated power?

  8. Working with a number of nations, is there a uniform set of rules that guide activities and projects on ISS?

  9. How difficult is it to readjust from living in space somewhat isolated for 6 months in a micro gravity environment to living on Earth?

  10. How do you prevent/monitor space debris from coming in contact with the ISS, and in the event of a space debris collision how do you fix the outside of the space station?

  11. The temperature difference can be over 300 degrees different from the sunny side of the ISS to the shaded side, why do we not use thermal generators?

  12. What kinds of experiments that are difficult or impossible on Earth are best suited to the microgravity on the Space Station?

  13. When the ISS is facing the Sun, the sunlight side is at about 120 degrees Celsius, and the other side is at about -160 degrees Celsius. How do you thermoregulate the inside of the Station between these extremes, considering that there is no thermal convection in the microgravity environment?

  14. Do you see a geotropic response from plants?

[…]

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 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org, and www.arrl.org.

Thank you & 73,
David - AA4KN