Prime Minister's wife on hand for
ARISS school group QSO
Sheila Martin, the wife of Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin topped
the list of VIPs on hand when youngsters at Manordale Public School in
Ottawa spoke via ham radio with International Space Station Expedition
10 Commander Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW. The December 9 contact was arranged
via the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station--or ARISS--program.
Chiao answered 11 of the kids' questions, including one asking how the
ISS is making life better on Earth. In addition to general technological
spin offs from the space program, Chiao cited some ongoing biomedical
research.
"There are some experiments on board where we're developing some
protein crystals that pharmaceutical companies can use to hopefully make
vaccines and things like that for diseases such as AIDS," he explained.
Chiao also told the youngsters--who ranged from pre-kindergartners to
sixth graders--that he's "very comfortable being in space" and
has not had any problems adjusting to zero gravity or with sleeping in
space. The 44-year-old astronaut told another youngster that while life
in space can
be very challenging, he had not seen anything unusual or frightening.
Recounting that the Expedition 10 crew had to override automatic controls
and dock manually with the ISS, Chiao said the experience was "kind
of exciting, but I wouldn't say it was scary."
There's no TV or Internet aboard the space station, he told another youngster.
"Sometimes we miss those things, and it makes you wonder how we ever
got along without them, doesn't it?"
Back on Earth, Steve McFarlane, VE3TBD, served as the ARISS mentor, while
Steve Regan, VA3MGY, and Geoff Johnson, VE3KID, provided the Earth station,
for which Johnson loaned his call sign.
"The PM's wife was thrilled with this," McFarlane said, describing
Sheila Martin's reaction to the youngsters' enthusiasm and excitement
and the contact's success. McFarlane's wife Lori, a teacher, assisted
with this QSO. Having earned a reputation among the Ottawa news media
as "the space lady," she has helped out with earlier ARISS contacts
in Merivale, Ontario, and Iqaluit, Nunavut.
As the Manordale ARISS contact ended, Chiao remained on frequency and
made several casual contacts. Glenn Graff, KB1GUE, in Bedford, Massachusetts,
west of Boston reports he listened in on most of the Canadian school contact,
then jumped in to make one of his own, calling NA1SS on the
144.49 MHz uplink frequency. Graff said Chiao told him that it was his
first non-school amateur contact and that he would try to get on the air
during his off time.
ARISS is an educational
outreach with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.
Source: ARRL Letter - courtesy of The
American Radio Relay League
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