[amsat-bb] Upcoming ARISS contact with Frederick W. Harnett Middle School, Blackstone, Massachusetts

Sun Jan 3 21:05:56 UTC 2016

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Frederick W. Harnett Middle School, Blackstone, Massachusetts

on 05 Jan. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 17:42 UTC. It is recommended that you start listening approximately 10 minutes before this time.The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between NA1SS and K6DUE. The contact should be audible over the east coast of the U.S. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.

Frederick W. Hartnett Middle School is a vibrant school in the central Massachusetts town of Blackstone, adjacent to Rhode Island's northern border. It houses sixth through eighth grades for the regional school district that serves the towns of Blackstone and Millville.   This is a quiet, somewhat suburban to rural area where most town residents choose to remain to raise their own families. The major landform in the area is the Blackstone River, which runs southeast through our towns. Because of this river, like many New England towns,  these areas were prominent mill towns in the late industrial era, and our landscape is dotted with old mills near the river, many which have been repurposed for factory work, storage or condo living. 

Our regional school district has two elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school.  Our ten-year-old building was built to keep our students up-to-date with technology. We are proud to say that we have 5 computer labs and a STEM program for each grade.  It is our sixth-grade students who will be asking the questions to the chosen ARISS astronaut. Sixth graders have just completed an extensive set of lessons about the ISS, its mission, the country partners who sponsor and keep the ISS going, its components, astronauts, some of the science happening on board, and a little bit about astronaut training. Earlier in the school year, they learned about our Universe, its history, the formation and the lives of stars and galaxies, our Sun and its solar system and Earth's place in all of this.

Students are very excited to have this opportunity to speak with an ISS astronaut. In our classes, we often follow the path of the ISS, and we watch the Earth from the High Definition Earth Viewing System (HDEV) cameras placed on the ISS.  We watched today's Soyuz TMA-19M launch and ISS docking, bringing the three new crew members for Expedition 46.  We have also had some very successful ISS viewing parties where students returned to school with their parents after dark to view the ISS when it passed overhead.  We know you astronauts can't see us, but we waved anyway!

Thank you ARISS, NASA, ESA and all the ISS partners, our ARISS helpers Charlie Sufana and David Taylor, and all the astronauts who have participated in this great program which gives so many students a glimpse into and a personal connection with the science of space exploration and communication, on Earth and in space! 

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

1. What is your favorite ISS food?  Do you try food/meals from other 

   astronaut teams?

2. Is the oxygen you breathe on the ISS recycled, made or brought up by 

   supply missions? 

3. Does the ISS make noise? What causes the noise and how do you deal with 

   it?

4.  On the ISS, do you eat more or less than you did on Earth?

    What types of fresh food do you get from the supply missions?

5.  What fun activities do you do in space?

6.  How do you wash your clothes?  What is the room temperature on the ISS?

7.  What was the strangest experience you've been through in space?

8.  Do you get to bring one or more personal possessions to the ISS for your 

    time in space?  What did you bring?

9.  What inspired you to be an astronaut?  When did you realize this?

10.  How is sleeping in microgravity different in space? Is it a restful 

     sleep?

11.  What are some dangers of being on the ISS?

12.  Are you on Twitter? Would you be able to send out a tweet either saying 

     hello to us, or saying that you spoke to FWHMS here in Blackstone   

     Massachusetts? 

13.  What type of tools do you use on a spacewalk? Where do you keep them 

     while working?

14.  What jobs or tasks do you do daily on the ISS? 

15.  What is your favorite place to be on the ISS? Why?

16.  How long does it take for an astronaut to regain their strength, muscle, 

     and bone health once they are back here on Earth?

17.  I am a seventh grader. I choose a virtual middle school course called 

     Space Station Academy. In this course we learned about how scientists 

     study Earth from space and how the human body reacts to space in 

     microgravity. I want to know how your body reacted when you first went 

     into space.  Did you get a bad headward fluid shift (space headache) or 

     have the feeling of nausea? 

18.  I know astronauts bones become more fragile the longer they are in space 

     due to the lack gravity, so you exercise extensively each day to 

     counteract that. Do your bones feel any weaker or different now that you 

     have been up for a few weeks?

19.  Will popcorn pop in space? Do you have popcorn as a snack on the ISS?

20.  Is there anything from Earth that you miss because you can't get it or 

     you can't accomplish it on the ISS?

21.  How much free time do you get? What do you do with your free time? 

22.  T. Peake - How will your London marathon run on the ISS be different 

     than running in London? How will it be similar?

23.  Have you or your fellow astronauts ever been injured in space? What 

     would happen if someone became seriously injured or became ill?

PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES:

      Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the 

      International Space Station (ARISS).

      To receive our Twitter updates, follow @ARISS_status

Next planned event(s):

1.   Sandringham School, St.  Albans, Hertfordshire, UK, direct via GB1SAN

      The ISS callsign is presently  scheduled to be GB1SS

      The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake  KG5BVI

      Contact is a go for: Fri, 08Jan2016, 08:47 UTC  

ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the volunteer support and leadership from AMSAT and IARU societies around the world with the ISS space agencies partners: NASA, Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES, JAXA, and CSA.

ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crewmembers on-board the International Space Station. Teachers, parents and communities see, first hand, how Amateur Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize youngsters' interest in science, technology, and learning. Further information on the ARISS program visit the ARISS website at ariss.org.

Thank you & 73,

David - AA4KN

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