April 8, 2010

ARISS CONTACT PLANNED WITH SCHOOL IN POLAND

An ARISS school contact is planned with participants at Abramowski School in Katowice.

Edward Abramowski Technical and Comprehensive Schools Complex no. 3 in Katowice was established in 1945 as a secondary school with one faculty – photography and technology. Later it was incorporated into the Silesian Technology Centre in Katowice. It was only in 1950 that the school became a separate teaching unit with graduates from the faculty of photography. Courtesy of intensive efforts of its headmaster and teachers, in the year 1956 the school received its own bulding in the district Katowice-Piotrowice which remains in its posession until today.

Presently, the school offers the students two faculties: Photography and IT Electronics. The Schools Complex is formed not only by the Technical High School, but also a Comprehensive School with teaching programmes covering mathematics and IT as well as journalism and photography. On the other hand, the Technical High School has classes specializing in electronics and photography profiles.

Abramowski School is a modern institution with a well-qualified staff, boasting excellent educational base and equipment. They regularly modernize the facilities. Students take new challenges very willingly. They take part in many knowledge-based competitions and contests, where they often win high positions. Abramowski School also has a tradition in the field of radio contact. The School Amateur Radio Club SP9ZHQ was established in 1999 and since then has been active on many bands.

Presently the school has 440 students and 50 teachers.

The direct ARISS contact is scheduled Monday 12 April at 06:53 UTC, which is 08:53 CEST.

The ground station will operate with call sign SN0ISS.

Downlink signals will be audible in Europe on 145.800MHz FM.

Participants will ask as many of following questions as time allows:

1. Michał: What is the temperature outside the space station?

2. Rafał: How do you recognize the seasons?

3. Krzysztof: What kind of entertainment do you have on the space station?

4. Michał: What do you do in your free time?

5. Jacek: Do you listen to music? If yes, what kind of music do you listen to?

6. Michał: Does the sun look different out there in the Universe than from the Earth?

7. Magdalena: What was the most surprising and fascinating thing about your first space flight?

8. Marcin: What do you eat during your expedition?

9. Adrian: How do you prepare your meals?

10. Dawid: How long does it take to walk through the whole ship in weightless condition?

11. Tomasz: How often do you get your food supply from the Earth?

12. Marcin: How does it feel when you see the earth from the space station?

13. Krzysztof: Can you see earth’s city lights in the night?

14. Tomasz: Does weightless condition have any side effects on your system?

15. Kamil: How long did it take to get used to living in weightless condition?

16. Szymon: How fast do you fly in space?

17. Radosław: Why did you become an astronaut?

18. Dominik: How did you start your career as an astronaut?

19. Bartłomiej: Where do you take air from at the station and for how long is it sufficient?

20. Grzegorz: How long have you been there so far?

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.

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Gaston Bertels - ON4WF
ARISS Chairman