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 Previous: FCC Amateur Radio Enforcement Letters for the Periods Ending October 20, 2001 |  Next: Georgia to Host 2002 USA ARDF/Radio-Orienteering Championships |
 Frank Culbertson, KD5OPQ, at the NA1SS operating position. [NASA Photo] |
NEWINGTON, CT, Oct 29, 2001--Fifteen youngsters in grades three, four and five used ham radio to interview International Space Station Expedition 3 Crew Commander Frank Culbertson, KD5OPQ, from the McWhirter Elementary School in Webster, Texas--not far from Johnson Space Center. The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, or ARISS, contact October 23 was handled via a teleconferencing linkup with ZS6BTD in South Africa.
Operating as NA1SS, Culbertson recognized some of the youngsters and asked them to convey his regards to their families. "It's good to hear your voice," he told one youngster. "I hope soccer is going well." The contact occurred shortly after the Soyuz "taxi" crew had arrived at the ISS, bringing the number aboard the spacecraft to six, Culbertson noted.
In answering the dozen or so questions posed, Culbertson pointed out that the ISS includes protection to break up small meteors. The ISS can be maneuvered from the ground to avoid large objects spotted in advance by radar, he explained.
Culbertson explained to one boy that "a lot of steel, a lot of wires, a lot of tubes for cooling" as well as a lot of bolts and screws and computer parts went into the international effort of constructing the space station. "You probably got most of these things in your garage, and you could probably make one with your dad," he quipped.
To a question about how his two dogs would fare aboard the ISS, Culbertson replied that he thought dogs would have a difficult time in space because they don't have hands to hold onto the handrails. "They'd have a hard time staying in one place and would probably get disoriented and would probably try to run in the middle of the module," he said. "So I don't think they would enjoy it very much unless they had some way of staying on the floor, like a lot of Velcro on their feet."
Another student asked about the September 11 attacks. Culbertson said he and his two Russian crewmates were able to see the result of the attacks from the ISS and were very troubled. "It seems strange to me that people would want to attack our country when we do so much good for the rest of the world," he said, "and we're trying to do good things with other countries up here and I hope that sets a good example for the future."
Culbertson also noted that English is the primary language used aboard the ISS, although crew members do learn each others' languages. The primary difference between life on Earth and life on the ISS is weightlessness and the ability to float from place to place. He said he'd always wanted to explore and fly and do new things, and that led him to become an astronaut. "And I like to do things that help other people, so here I am."
Listen to the October 23 ARISS QSO with pupils at McWhirter Elementary School: [10:08]--thanks to Berto Willems, ON1CAU, for providing this audio clip |
"I think all the kids had a great time. This was a great learning experience for each of us," said McWhirter Elementary Principal Cindy Stamps, who noted that three or four of the kids know Culbertson personally. Gene Chapline, K5YFL, was the ARISS mentor for the contact.
More information on the ARISS program is available on the ARISS Web site.
| Previous: FCC Amateur Radio Enforcement Letters for the Periods Ending October 20, 2001 | Next: Georgia to Host 2002 USA ARDF/Radio-Orienteering Championships |
