Students Make First Contact with the ISS

From the Science @ NASA Webpage...



The days of painting Styrofoam planets are probably numbered at the Luther Burbank School in southwest Chicago after students there received a call from space.


It wasn't a hail from alien creatures, but the radio transmissions were nonetheless electrifying to students and teachers who, with the aid of a local ham radio operator, made "first contact" with the crew of the International Space Station (ISS). Participants in the long-distance radio chat --the first of its kind between students and the ISS-- say science education at the Illinois school may never be the same.



The voice of Rita Wright, Burbank teacher and project coordinator, was full of pride and joy as she recounted the exchange on December 21, 2000. With more than 250 people assembled in the school's gymnasium, the excitement of receiving a radio call from the International Space Station was palpable.



"The air was thick with the enthusiasm and anticipation," she recalled.



The students were able to talk to the astronauts thanks to a program called "Amateur Radio International Space Station," or ARISS for short. ARISS was created in 1996 to design, build and operate radio equipment that connects ISS crewmembers in space with eager students on Earth. ARISS is sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) and NASA.



To read the full story and hear the actual QSO see the Students make First Contact with the ISS web page.