The International Space Station is seen from space shuttle Discovery during the STS-119 mission

Upcoming ARISS contact with Sherbrooke Community School, Sassafras, Victoria, Australia

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Sherbrooke Community School, Sassafras, Victoria, Australia on 28 October. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 07:13 UTC.

The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between NA1SS and W6SRJ. The contact should be audible over the west coast of the U.S. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.

Sherbrooke Community School is situated on the Mount Dandenong Tourist Road on the outskirts of the Sassafras township, approximately 40 kilometres east of Melbourne.

Sherbrooke Community School has an increasing student population which is now approaching 160. Students are drawn from a wide area covering the Dandenong Ranges, the outer eastern suburbs and the Yarra Valley.

VK3KID is the callsign of the Sherbrooke Community Radio Club. This club has been established between amateur radio operators and Sherbrooke Community School to foster student participation and advancement with the community. Our motto is "Can operor, non vos can non operor", which is Latin for "Can do, not cannot do".

Sherbrooke Community Radio Club is affiliated with the Wireless Institute of Australia and aims to work with all clubs and schools to promote the use and understanding of Amateur Radio. The Club is prepared to work closely with other clubs. Membership of the Sherbrooke Community Radio Club is non-monetary but is based on participation! We are an inclusive club that welcomes those who would like to help promote the advancement of Amateur Radio.

Participants will ask as many of the following questions (translated) as time allows:

1. How do you neutralize the static charge when a spacecraft docks with the ISS?
2. What is the crew working on at the moment?
3. What happens to the sewerage from the ISS?
4. What does it feel like to leave the earth's atmosphere both physically and emotionally?

5. Has being on the station changed the way you feel about the earth?
6. How much more efficient are solar panels out in space?
7. How does space look like outside the earth's atmosphere?
8. Do astronauts feel more like a member of planet Earth rather than a member of the nation after their ISS experience?
9. Do you regularly talk with radio amateurs from around the world outside organized ARISS arrangements?

10 What happens when a person vomits in space?
11. What type of electric lights do you use to illuminate the interior of the ISS?
12. Our sister school in Bhutan has asked, can you see the snow of the Himalayas from the ISS?
13. What is your food like?
14. Do you have night and day?
15. When they show the ISS on TV, I cannot see stars in space. Can you see stars and other planets outside the window of the ISS?

16. This is a question from our sister school in China. What do you miss the most when you are out there is space?
17. Do you believe that there is life on other planets within and outside our solar system?
18. Do you have to wear anything to protect your eyes from the sun while you are on the ISS?
19. Do you talk to Earth via other satellites or directly to the ground stations?
20. How big is this ISS now that more modules have been added since it was launched?

Information about the upcoming ARISS contacts can be found at http://www.ariss.org/upcoming.htm#NextContact.

Next planned event(s):
1. David Thompson Middle School, Calgary, AB, Canada, Fri 30 Oct 09 21:12 UTC

ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the participating space agencies, NASA, Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES, JAXA, and CSA, with the AMSAT and IARU organizations from participating countries.

ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crewmembers on-board the International Space Station.

Teachers, parents and communities see, first hand, how Amateur Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize youngsters' interest in science, technology, and learning.

Further information on the ARISS program is available on the website http://www.ariss.org/ (graciously hosted by the Radio Amateurs of Canada).

Thank you & 73,

David - AA4KN