The Expedition 1 crew: Commander William "Shep" Shepherd, KD5GSL, is flanked by his Russian flight team, Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR (left), and Yuri Gidzenko. [NASA Photo]
NEWINGTON, CT, Mar 7, 2001--Space Station Alpha Commander William "Shep" Shepherd, KD5GSL, will get a chance this week to chat via Amateur Radio with students at his high school alma mater in Arizona. The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, or ARISS, school contact today with students at Arcadia High School in Phoenix is being squeezed in the waning days of the Expedition 1 crew's tour of duty aboard the International Space Station. The contact is scheduled to take place from 1453 to 1504 UTC. Shepherd requested that ARISS fit the contact into the schedule.
Since finding out four months ago that Shepherd was an alumnus of the school, Arcadia High School senior Ross Tucker, AC7JO, has spearheaded an effort to make the amateur contact a reality. Tucker co-founded and currently is president of the Arcadia High School Amateur Radio Club (KD7LAC). The club has attracted some $3000 in donations, set up a working station, and boasts five new licensees. Tucker has managed to get some media coverage along the way. "The public response to this project has been truly remarkable," he said.
Response inside the school has been intense as well. "Our school is already thrilled about this adventure," Tucker said. "In fact, the school involvement has already started from the art department to the science department. The science teachers have all discussed our club in class, and have hosted a contest for the best questions to ask the astronauts.
The Expedition 1 crew: Commander William "Shep" Shepherd, KD5GSL, is flanked by his Russian flight team, Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR (left), and Yuri Gidzenko. [NASA Photo] |
Among other questions, students at Arcadia plan to ask Shepherd about some of the research projects aboard the ISS, how much the crew relies on mission control, the impact of the ISS on international relations, and what Shepherd remembers of his days in Arizona as an Arcadia High School student. A dozen students are tentatively scheduled to pose questions to Shepherd during the approximately 10-minute contact.
Tucker says he's had help from Allen Cameron, N7UJJ, of the Carl Hayden High School ARC in setting up equipment for the contact. "We have been running drills and simulations for a week now, and everything has gone smoothly."
Tucker says art students at Arcadia have painted a mural of the ISS in orbit that's on display behind the KD7LAC operating position at the school.
Since the Expedition 1 crew arrived aboard the ISS last November, Shepherd has spoken via Amateur Radio with youngsters at schools in Illinois, Virginia, New York, Texas and Ontario, Canada.
ARISS spokesman Will Marchant, KC6ROL, said he expects it will be sometime in late March--after the Expedition 2 crew arrives--before ARISS school contacts can resume. The ISS Expedition 2 crew will include two hams, Russian cosmonaut and Commander Yuri Usachev, RW3FU, and US astronaut Susan Helms, KC7NHZ, in addition to US astronaut Jim Voss.
For more information on the ARISS program, visit the ARISS Web site.
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