January 08, 2010
ASTRONAUT JEFFREY WILLIAMS ONBOARD ISS PARTICIPATES TO
MARCONI COMMEMORATION
Thursday, 7
January 2010 at 09:00 UTC, i.e. 10:00 local time, an ARISS contact was
established between University of Rome “Tor Vergata” and NASA astronaut Jeffrey Williams KD5TVQ onboard the International
Space Station.
The radio contact
with the ISS was performed by the ARISS telebridge ground station W6SRJ,
located in Santa Rosa Junior College, California, USA.
"Tor
Vergata"
At 09:00 UTC,
contact with NA1SS was established by station W6SRJ. Astronaut Jeffrey Williams KD5TVQ answered 11 questions. He
said how much the ISS crew appreciates the ARISS school contacts as well as the
contribution of the amateur radio community to the promotion of technical and
scientific studies among the youth.
After the sequence
of the questions by students, Princess Elettra Marconi, the daughter of
Guglielmo Marconi and Mr. Dieter Isakeit,
ESA ESRIN Corporate Communication Office & Communication and
Knowledge Department, sent greetings to the ISS crew.
At the “Tor
Vergata" University Conference Center in Villa Mondragone at Monteporzio
Catone, near Rome, an audience of more than 200 students, teachers, visitors
and media followed the contact.
After the contact,
ARISS mentor Francesco De Paolis, IK0WGF presented the ARISS activities to the
audience. The event was commented by Mr. Augusto
Cramarossa, Italian Space Agency, Head of
Strategy, National and International, also by Mr. Massimo Pucini, Deputy Mayor of Monteporzio Catone town, and by
Prof. Marina Ruggeri, Director Departement of Electronics Engineering –
University “Tor Vergata”.
Local Media and
newspapers covered the event. The audio was distributed by echolink.
Congratulations to
University “Tor Vergata” staff and AMSAT Italy team!
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
Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 3 - Princess Elettra Marconi
Photo 4 - Mr Dieter Isakeit
Photo 5
Photo 6
Audio recording
