Ham Radio Connects Youngsters in South Carolina, Georgia with Space Station

Student Stephen Clifton of Heathwood Hall Episcopal School asks his question of ISS crew chief Frank Culbertson while Matthew Shelton of Lexington Middle School and Samantha Niemeyer of Lexington Intermediate School await their turns.

NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 6, 2001--Youngsters visiting the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia and attending the Atlanta New Century School in Georgia recently spoke via ham radio with the International Space Station. The contacts were the latest in a string of successful radio conversations between school-age youngsters and Expedition 3 Crew Commander Frank Culbertson, KD5OPQ. They were arranged as part of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program.

On Friday, November 30, 13 youngsters in grades 4 through 11 visiting the South Carolina State Museum quizzed Culbertson, who operated as NA1SS from aboard the ISS. Culbertson generated some news during the contact when he revealed that NASA had scheduled a space walk by two of the crew members to clear up a Progress rocket docking problem. The faulty docking had been holding up the launch of the Expedition 4 crew on the space shuttle.

Some 100 youngsters were on hand at "Earth Station South Carolina" for the occasion. One fifth grader wanted to know whether Culbertson had ever seen life in space. "Just the guys I live with up here," Culbertson quipped. "I haven't seen any other kind of life outside the space station." His remark drew laughter from the earthbound audience.

"Who knows whether there is or not," Culbertson continued in a more serious vein. "If there is, it's a pretty big deal and would be very important. If there's not, then it makes our place in the universe even more important and gives us more responsibility to take care of what we have."

In response to a question on what he likes best about his job, Culbertson said, "Working together as a team is one of the most important things we all can do and you all can do down there on the ground." He also said that having peace, tolerance and understanding in the world "is even more important" in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Culbertson told the youngsters that he was floating "halfway between the ceiling and the floor" as he was talking to them. "Zero G is fun," he said, referring to the weightless environment, "however, there are hazards." Although there's no artificial gravity aboard the space station, Culbertson said he sometimes he wished there were.

Listen to audio of the November 30 contact with South Carolina State Museum: [10:28]

Youngsters at the museum represented nine schools in the Columbia area. They were joined by other visitors, including museum volunteers, parents and media representatives.

During both contacts, students questioned Culbertson about the space suits that crew members have to wear outside the ISS. Culbertson said the suits weight about 200 pounds, but "up in space, you hardly notice that weight." Replying Wednesday, December 5, to a youngster at the Atlanta New Century School, he explained that the crew members need to help each other to suit up for space walks. "It takes about two hours to get ready to go outside," he said.

One first grader at the Atlanta school wanted to know how "the fire makes the ship fly." Culbertson explained that the "fire" was really a mixture of exhaust gases forcefully exiting the rocket "really, really fast" and that the reaction to that force made the rocket move in the opposite direction. He told the next questioner that liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen were the primary shuttle fuels--a half million gallons in all.

Listen to audio of the December 5 contact with the Atlanta New Century School: [9:57]

Culbertson said Mars and the moon are "very, very clear" when viewed from the ISS but don't look that much bigger than they do from Earth. Sleeping aboard the ISS while floating was "very comfortable and feels like you're supported all around," he noted.

One student prompted guffaws from his classmates when he asked how much Culbertson earned. The pay scale for his job as an astronaut is the same as for an average aerospace engineer, Culbertson told the youngster--from about $50,000 to more than $90,000 a year.

In all, about a dozen questions were asked and answered during contact with Atlanta New Century School, a private elementary school (grades K through 8) with some 110 students that incorporates technology into its curriculum. Culbertson's sister, Amy, also was among those in the audience at Atlanta. "Tell my sister Amy hello for me," Culbertson said, but the two did not converse.

ISS Expedition 3 crew commander Frank Culbertson, KD5OPQ, during an earlier ARISS school contact from NA1SS. [NASA Photo]

The Atlanta contact was a bit rockier and shorter than the South Carolina QSO, experiencing occasional miscues and ending abruptly and unexpectedly. Two-way audio for both contacts was routed via WorldCom teleconferencing hookups with distant ham stations. "Signals during the pass from the ISS were a little up and down and we lost contact around 45 seconds before LOS (loss of signal)," said Tony Hutchison, VK5ZAI, who handled Earth station duties for the Atlanta contact.

Nancy Richeleau, WH6PN, and Dick Flagg, AH6NM, operating from The Sacred Hearts Academy club station in Honolulu, served as the control operators for the South Carolina contact.

Culbertson, who's logged nearly two dozen ARISS school contacts during his ISS stay, is looking forward to returning to Earth in time to join his family for the holidays. The current crew has been aboard the ISS since August. The shuttle Endeavour carrying the Expedition 4 crew of Commander Yuri Onufrienko and Flight Engineers Dan Bursch, KD5PNU, and Carl Walz, KC5TIE, blasted into space December 5. The shuttle also is carrying some new ham radio antennas for the ISS.

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