Newfoundland Students Honor Marconi Anniversary with ISS Contact

NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 13, 2001--One hundred years ago in Newfoundland, Guglielmo Marconi used a kite to hoist his receiving antenna aloft to hear the first radio signal to ever span the Atlantic--the simple Morse letter "S." Marconi likely would have been blown away with astonishment if he could have seen youngsters--on the centennial of his epochal accomplishment--sitting where he once sat and carrying on a radio conversation with someone in an orbiting space vehicle.

The successful Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact between special event station VO1S on Signal Hill, Newfoundland, and astronaut Frank Culbertson, KD5OPQ, operating NA1SS in space was just one of the events to celebrate Marconi's transatlantic reception in 1901.

During the contact, 10 students got to quiz Culbertson about life in space. The ninth-graders were winners of a crystal-set building competition associated with the centennial observance. They were picked from among hundreds of Saint John's, Newfoundland-area youngsters who had participated in the contest. Looking on were another 125 students and 40 adults, including members of the media.

"The question that seemed to get the most response from the audience was from Chris Mong, age 13, who asked 'If you sneeze on the space station, does the force of the sneeze propel you backwards?'," said ARISS mentor Charlie Sufana, AJ9N. "Frank said 'it can'."

Another youngster, 14-year-old Ashley Evans, wanted to know how the crew members brush their teeth in space. "The only difference between brushing your teeth in space and on the ground is that most people end up swallowing the toothpaste, since we don't have a sink with running water to get rid of it in," Culbertson said. "But that's not really a problem. Otherwise, it's pretty much the same."

Melissa Doody, age 15, was curious if the crew could see Newfoundland from the ISS. "Absolutely, we can certainly see you, and I've seen you many times since I've been up here," Culbertson replied. "Unfortunately, the ham radio is not located near a window, so I can't see you right now, but it's a beautiful part of the country.

The ARISS contact--only the third ARISS contact to involve Canadian students--was arranged with the assistance of Memorial University of Newfoundland, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the Society of Newfoundland Radio Amateurs.

The December 12 commemorative event marked the first time an ARISS school contact was scheduled while a shuttle was docked with the ISS. The ground team reported later that the signal from NA1SS was "very weak and marginal," and contact between the ISS and the ground held up only for about six minutes, compared to the typical ten-minute pass. There was speculation that the shuttle Endeavour may have blocked signals and led to the shorter-than-usual contact window.

Graham Dillabough, VE6KJ/VO1DZA, served as control op. Sufana congratulated Dillabough and his teammates for battling high winds--gusting at 110 km (68 miles) per hour--and even some snow to erect the antennas necessary for the contact. The high winds kept the visitors from atop Signal Hill itself; gear for the ARISS contact was set up in the visitors' center instead.

Sufana also expressed appreciation to Marilyn Steinberg of the Canadian Space Agency for helping arrange the contact and to Dave Taylor of Park Canada, who assisted at the Signal Hill National Historic Site.

Culbertson, who's completing a four-month tour of duty aboard the ISS, turns over the reins this week to Expedition 4 crew commander Yuri Onufrienko, RK3DUO. The other Expedition 4 crew members are fight engineers Dan Bursch, KD5PNU, and Carl Walz, KC5TIE. The Expedition 3 crew has been aboard the ISS since August.

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