ARISS SCHOOL CONTACT SCHEDULED WITH ELECTROTECHNICAL SCHOOL OF DRESDEN, GERMANY

In Germany, as well as in several other European countries, the radio regulatory authorities issue a beginner's licence to candidates who prepare and successfully participate to an amateur radio beginners examination. For the second time, this opportunity has been put to good use by a teacher preparing a group of students for an ARISS School Contact.

February 27, 2003 16 students of the “Hochwald Gymnasium” (Highschool) of Wadern, Germany had a spacetalk with US astronaut Don Pettit, KD5MDT on board the ISS. They participated to the contact using their own callsign, for they had succeeded the examination and gained the beginners licence. This story is available on the News Bulletins page of the ARISS-Europe website.

Friday December 5, 2003 6 students of the “Berufliches Schulzentrum Electrotechnik”, Dresden, Germany have an appointment with US astronaut Mike Foale, KB5UAC. They too will use their personal callsign, for they have prepared and successfully passed the examination and got their beginners licence. Congrats to the new licensees and to their teacher Thomas Hetland, DL8DXW who prepared them for the examination.

The Dresden contact is scheduled Friday 5 December 2003 at 14:58 UTC, which is 15:58 CET (Continental European Time).

Here are the questions prepared by the students:

1. Hello International Space Station, hello Mike. Here is Thomas, the coordinator of the amateur radio station DL0IKT of the Berufliches Schulzentrum Elektrotechnik Dresden in Germany. We thank you for the involvement in this contact. And now the first question:

Here is Anna, DO2ARI. What did you do before you became an astronaut? Over.

2. Here is Pavel, DC1PK. What would you first do after your landing? Over.

3. Here is Martin, DO7LTS. Which antenna is being used for this talk? Over.

4. Here is Henry, DO2UTX. What did you eat today? Over.

5. Here is Coelestus, DO2DEC. What is the most interesting project aboard the ISS for you personally? Over.

6. Here is Markus, DO6SIX. What is the probability of being hit by a meteorite or remaining parts of former missions? Over.

7. Here is Stephan, DO6RJ. Has an astronaut ever been ill on the ISS, or is there no danger of infection on the ISS? Over.

8. Here is Anna, DO2ARI. What was the most difficult challenge during your training to be an astronaut? Over.

9. Here is Pavel, DC1PK. Does NASA have plans to produce artificial gravity in space on the ISS? Over.

10. Here is Martin, DO7LTS. Are you able to notice harmful changes in the environment with your naked eye from the ISS? Over.

11. Here is Henry, DO2UTX. How is it possible to sleep if there is no gravity? Over.

12. Here is Coelestus, DO2DEC. What are your water reserves onboard the ISS, and how much oxygen do you consume per day? Over.

13. Here is Markus, DO6SIX. How long will it take to regain all your physical abilities after coming back to Earth? Over.

14. Here is Stephan, DO6RJ. How do you solve the problem of waste disposal? Over.

15. Here is Anna, DO2ARI. How often do you have to change the orbit of the ISS? Over.

16. Here is Pavel, DC1PK. How do you feel about weightlessness? Over.

17. Here is Martin, DO7LTS. What do you do about the problem of muscle and bone wasting in weightlessness? Over.

18. Here is Henry, DO2UTX. What type of experiments in medicine do you do on the ISS? Over.

19. Here is Coelestus, DO2DEC. How do you keep in touch with your family and your friends during your long stay in space? Over.

20. Here is Markus, DO6SIX. How many hours are you allowed to sleep? Over.

Interested parties are invited to listen to the answers of the astronaut on the downlink frequency 145.800MHz, narrowband FM.

73

Gaston Bertels

ARISS-Europe Chairman