Onboard Fires, Safe Grounding Question Topics for NA1SS School Contacts

The Georgia Tech Amateur Radio Club's W4AQL served as the ground station for the contact with students at the university.

Georgia Tech grad and ISS Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, exercises on the cycle ergometer aboard the International Space Station. [NASA Photo]

An Aquebogue School pupil asks her question of ISS Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, at the controls of NA1SS.

Members of Long Island's Peconic Amateur Radio Club set up the Earth-station equipment for the Aquebogue School ARISS contact.

McArthur said that his time in space has deepened his respect for "Mother Earth." His two favorite leisure activities are looking out the window and photographing Earth--in this case Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico--and talking on the ham radio, he told students. [NASA Photo]

CLICK HERE to listen to the ARISS contact between NA1SS and W4AQL at Georgia Tech. (Recording courtesy of W4AQL) A suitable audio recording of the ARISS contact between NA1SS and N2RBU at Aquebogue School was not available.

NEWINGTON, CT, Jan 27, 2006--Speaking from NA1SS on the International Space Station, ISS Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, recently greeted students at his college alma mater in Georgia and an elementary school on Long Island. McArthur answered questions put to him via W4AQL by students at Georgia Tech on January 19 and via N2RBU by pupils at Aquebogue School--some 100 miles east of New York City--on January 24. The direct VHF contacts were arranged by the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program. Both school groups wanted to know what the ISS crew would do in case a fire broke out aboard the ISS.

"The first thing we want to do is try to protect the crew, so we immediately gather at a common location--it's called the Central Post in the Russian Service Module, which has a lot of data available, and from there we plan how to address the fire," McArthur told the Georgia Tech group. "Now, if it's an obvious fire right in front of you, you use the fire extinguisher or turn the electrical equipment off. If it's not something so obvious then we methodically go to the source of the fire, try to assess what is the source of the fire and then address it either by removing electrical power or using the fire extinguisher."

McArthur later told the Aquebogue youngsters that the crew does considerable training on what to do in case of fire. He said that if the crew members were unable to get the fire under control, they'd get into the Soyuz vehicle, abandon the space station and return home.

While no fires have broken out aboard the ISS, one did erupt February 24, 1997, on the now-defunct Russian Mir space station while US astronaut Jerry Linenger, KC5HBR, was aboard. Linenger, a physician, later reported via Amateur Radio that no injuries had occurred and all crew members were in good health. Linenger later detailed his experiences in a book, Off the Planet--Surviving Five Perilous Months Aboard the Space Station Mir.

One of the Georgia Tech students also asked McArthur about electrical safety grounding aboard the ISS. "We don't really have a problem making it safe for human contact," McArthur replied. He explained, however, that equipment grounding differs from the Russian side to the American side of the spacecraft.

"On the American side, we use a common ground much like an automobile does," he said. "The Russian electrical equipment actually does have a separate ground wire--a return to ground."

McArthur told the college students that the overarching goal of all scientific research and experimentation aboard the ISS is to understand how to keep space travelers safe, healthy and productive on a long-term voyage, such as one to Mars.

During the subsequent contact between NA1SS and N2RBU at Aquebogue School, one of the elementary pupils asked if McArthur had seen anything mysterious in space during his time aboard the ISS.

"I think the only mysterious things I've seen have been some personal items floating around," McArthur responded. "I have a little orange-red 'Koosh' ball, and I think it's just kinda neat when it escapes on its own and floats around on the air currents," he added, eliciting giggles from some of the kids.

He told another youngster that the crew has no problems keeping down its food in the microgravity environment. "It stays in our stomachs very nicely," he said. "The human digestive system seems to function very, very well in space."

Teacher and Peconic Amateur Radio Club (PARC) President Roberta Keis, N2RBU--an ARISS school contact veteran--served as the control operator for the Aquebogue contact. PARC members assisted in setting up the Earth station.

ARISS is an international educational outreach with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.

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