Astronaut Bill McArthur KC5ACR, the Expedition 12 commander, has been more active from NA1SS than any other astronaut or cosmonaut

Bill McArthur on a roll with back-to-back school contacts

With Expedition 12 drawing to a close in April, ISS Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, has been working hard to speak via Amateur Radio with students at as many schools as possible.

Last week, he took time to thank the worldwide Amateur Radio community for its help in achieving several ham radio milestones from space. McArthur has been more active from NA1SS than any other astronaut or cosmonaut who's lived aboard the ISS since the first crew arrived in 2000.

Among other accomplishments, he completed DXCC and WAS from space (the awards will be honorary). In addition, he holds the record for handling the most Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) school contacts of any ISS crew member - 34 as of March 23.

"I would like to express my deep gratitude to the worldwide amateur radio community for your participation in this great adventure," McArthur said.
"Clearly, one of the benefits for Amateur Radio is bridging the distances between us. Through your participation, you helped realize the potential for the human exploration of space to do exactly that. Thanks to you, over the past six months, the International Space Station has been more international than ever before."

On St Patrick's Day, March 17, McArthur chatted with students at high schools in Maryland and Ohio on successive orbits. Something a bit out of the ordinary occurred during the contact with Bowie High School in Maryland, when one student asked in Russian, "How do the northern lights look from out in space?" Because all ISS crew members are bi-lingual, McArthur was able to respond in kind: "It's a beautiful sight."

Commenting for an article about the contact that appeared in The Gazette newspaper, Bowie High School Principal John Birckhead said, “This type of event creates all kinds of opportunities for the students.” He credited coordinating teacher and Earth station operator Art Colton, KB3KAR, with doing "an excellent job" in making the contact happen. Members of the Goddard Amateur Radio Club (WA3NAN) provided and set up the equipment and antennas for the ARISS QSO.

McArthur answered 20 questions during the approximately 10-minute contact. The station for the direct VHF ARISS contact was located in the Bowie High School library. AMSAT President Rick Hambly, W2GPS, was on hand for the Bowie contact.

ARISS Mentor Jim Gass, N3CJN, said the event received coverage from TV and print media, including the Washington Post. "The kids were ecstatic, their parents were proud, and the principal, his staff and administrators were highly impressed and very pleased," he said.

On the next orbit, McArthur took 22 questions from students at Cleveland Heights High School in Ohio during a direct contact between NA8SA and NA1SS.
In response to one, he indicated he doesn't put much stock in astrology and discounted any notion of a connection between astrology and space.

"That's a pretty interesting question," McArthur allowed.
"Of course, astrology involves looking at the stars and the constellations and seeing if it can help predict our fates." Then, after some hesitation, he added, "I don't really pay much attention to astrology, to be quite honest with you."

McArthur told the students that the major difference between daily life on Earth and daily life in space is that his work day is longer on orbit.

"We really have a longer work day here," he responded. "Almost everything we do to some degree or another is work, so we have a little less time to 'hang around' if you will, although I'm hanging around on the ceiling right now."

The NA8SA Earth station call sign belongs to the NASA Lewis Research Center Amateur Radio Club in Cleveland, whose members helped set up for the event.

Coincidentally, both Bowie and Cleveland Heights boast current NASA astronauts among their graduates. Ricky Arnold, KE5DAU, of the astronaut class of 2004 is a Bowie alumnus, while Don Thomas, KC5FVF, attended Cleveland Heights.

ARISS is an international educational outreach, with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.

Source: The American Radio Relay League

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