July 24, 2009
ASTRONAUT FRANK DE WINNE ON1DWN TALKS WITH “UGO GUIDI”
SCHOOL
Thursday, 23 July 2009 at 19:35 UTC, i.e. 21:34 local
time, “Ugo Guidi” School, Forte dei Marmi, Italy, established a direct contact
with ESA astronaut Frank De Winne ON1DWN on board the International Space
Station. The Amateur Radio school station operated the contact with callsign
IQ5VR.
The participation of 1st grade Ugo Guidi school was the result of a misfortune that recently struck
the town of Viareggio. On the evening of June 29, 2009, a train carrying liquid
petroleum gas derailed while approaching the
Viareggio railway station. The explosion following caused much devastation to
the area. The Istituto Comprensivo Marco Polo-Viani, located only a few hundred
meters from the blast, was on the ARISS waiting list. They were not able to
host the event because the explosion struck relatives and friends of some
members of the school team. Instead, local Amateur Radio Club Station IQ5VR
(ARI Versilia) provided the technical support for the event, now scheduled at
Ugo Guidi school. Students are aged 6-11 (primary) and 12-14 (secondary).
Mr. Alessandro Tesconi, IK5EHI, the contact
coordinator for this ISS contact, decided in favour of a direct contact. Before
the contact, ARISS mentor Francesco De Paolis,
IK0WGF introduced the event with ARISS presentation by phone. The questions
were read by the students. The contact site was located in the school, where an
audience of more than 150 students, parents, teachers, visitors and the mass media
could follow the contact.
At 19:35 UTC, contact with OR4ISS was established by
station IQ5VR. Frank De Winne answered 20 questions. The signal from the ISS
was loud and clear all the time.
The audio and video was forwarded to: www.ondaforte.tv. Contacts by Web streaming from Germany
Austria, Croatia, Portugal, Holland, Belgium, United Kingdom, Switzerland,
Spain, U.S.A. (Texas), Bosnia and Italy.
OndaForteTV, local media and newspapers covered the
event.
Congratulations to “ARI Versilia” team!
Photos and an mp3 audio file will be attached to this
News Bulletin, archived at: http://www.ariss-eu.org/archive.htm
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 onboard
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.
73
Francesco
De Paolis, IK0WGF
ARISS mentor