Extra-Terrestrial Radio Contact - An educational experience like none other

Eighteen high school students from Brigidine College Randwick, communicated via radio direct to an astronaut working in space aboard the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday evening June 2.

Travelling at over 8 kilometres per second, the space station travelled from the Italian Alps to Australia in under 30 minutes. Anticipation swept the gathering as the approach was projected onto a large screen in the hall.

Contact was first made as the Space Station passed over the Gulf of Carpentaria and into North West Queensland. The pass over the Sydney school took about 10 minutes.

This was time enough for 18 students to quiz the Science Officer and Flight Engineer, Dr John Phillips, a veteran NASA astronaut. The students range in age from 13 to 18 years, and their questions are extremely diverse from the
philosophical, to the scientific, to the just plain curious.

Apart from being the first school in New South Wales to contact the space station, what made this particular contact unique was the enthusiastic 'ground crew' of students who took control of nearly every technical aspect of the contact.

"The activity has been an amazing learning experience", said organising teacher Matt Ryan, "Students were tracking the space craft, controlling the directional antenna, operating the radio transmitter and talking to an astronaut. Science doesn't come into the classroom better than this".

Two Sydney television networks covered the event, and print media were on hand to record the overwhelming joy and sense of accomplishment shared by the students.

After the event, children, parents and grandparents continued to share the euphoria and excitement of the 10-minute contact. One teacher remarked, "I am left feeling quite moved, inspired, humbled, and a little insignificant."

Bringing the audio of this contact to the world, Brad VK2QQ who given just some 20 minutes notice stepped into the breech and thanks to a purchase made at this years Dayton was able to x-band and into the echolink system.

Source: Wireless Institute of Australia

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