Danbury students to communicate with International Space Station

In a once-in-lifetime opportunity, ten students from Westside Middle School Academy and ten students from South Street Elementary School will contact the International Space Station next week to talk live with an astronaut in command.

On Jan. 27, students will have 10 minutes to speak with astronaut Shane Kimbrough in this rare opportunity accepted and scheduled by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). NASA selects 50 groups worldwide per year to contact the space station.

“This is a wonderful hands-on opportunity for our students, and I am thrilled that they are getting a chance to participate in the space program,” said Superintendent Dr. Sal Pascarella. “It allows them to dream of what roles they can play in the future in space exploration.”

Coordinated by NASA and Amateur Radio on the ISS (ARISS), the contact will be essentially through ham radio. Students will learn not only about life in space, but also about how radio communication works. Next Friday, students will opt for a telecom link to a ground station. After connecting via telephone to a ground station in Australia, the station will contact to the ISS via radio link.

To prepare for the event, students are gathering questions and learning to speak clearly and loudly, following radio procedure, such as saying “over” at the end of a question. There will be time for 16-20 questions. Under the guidance of WSMSA teacher Jon Neuhausel, the South Street Students will ask the first eight questions followed by questions from WSMSA students. Contact with the ISS will last approximately ten minutes.

Some of the questions include, “What types of microorganisms are dangerous in space?” “What type of medical testing does an astronaut have to go through to be fit for duty?” ‘How are you able to get internet in space and send information back and forth to Earth?” and “How do you handle major medical emergencies, such as a broken arm or heart attack?”

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Submitted by Danbury, CT

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