US astronaut Mike Fincke KE5AIT

ISS Commander
Mike Fincke KE5AIT talks with Italian school

On Tuesday 28 October 2008 at 09:37 UTC, Scuola Media Statale Donato Forlani, Conversano, Italy, established a direct contact with US astronaut Mike Fincke KE5AIT, on board the International Space Station. The school's Amateur Radio station IZ7MKW operated the contact.

The students had been involved in the preparation of this ARISS event in different ways. The training of the students comprised satellite contacts during the weeks before the ARISS event. They also operated the reception of SSTV pictures, sent from the ISS by Richard Garriott W5KWQ.

Michele Mallardi, IZ7EVR, the contact coordinator for this ISS contact, decided in favour of a direct contact.
The questions were read by the students. The contact site was located in the school, where an audience of more than 500, students, parents, teachers, visitors and the mass media could follow the contact.

At 09:39 UTC, contact with NA1SS was established by club station IZ7MKW. Commander Mike Fincke answered 12 questions. The astronaut sent greetings in Italian at the beginning and at end of the contact. Thanks Mike!

The signal from the ISS was loud and clear all the time at the schools contact site.

Two TV stations (CANALE 7, TeleNorba) and three newspapers (L'Informatore, Il Levante, Il Fax) covered the event.

Congratulations to the “Scuola Donato Forlani” team!

73

Francesco De Paolis, IK0WGF
ARISS mentor