The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) project lets students worldwide experience the excitement of talking directly with crew members of the ISS, inspiring them to pursue interests in careers in science, technology, engineering and math, and engaging them with radio science technology through amateur radio.
Allen Park Elementary is one of only fourteen schools in the US to participate in this round of ARISS. On the big day, they will use a ham radio to speak to an astronaut while they fly overhead and use a telescope on the ground to observe the ISS.
The students have taken on the NASA “Train Like an Astronaut – Walk to the Moon” challenge which includes growing tomatoes from seeds flown in space, visiting the Kennedy Space Center to witness a rocket launch and forming a STEM Club to study rocketry, computer coding and robotics.
Onboard the ISS, they will be talking to Serena Auñón-Chancellor, an American physician that has been in space since June 2018.
The talk is scheduled for Monday Oct 8 at 17:05 UTC (1305 EST) and will be streamed live on YouTube.
A backup plan
To make the radio portable and to provide backup to prevent intermittent power failures a battery backup was needed. When we were asked to help supply a battery they didn’t need to ask twice. Helping Century Link and Brian in this effort was our pleasure. We provided one of our MQ batteries the 12MQ2400, to give them sufficient backup and reliability.
“I’m looking forward to tuning into the YouTube stream to catch some of the excitement of the conversation. My wife and daughter have worked in elementary education for years and I’ve had a chance to participate with them in educational projects outside of school which helps tie education to the world around us. This is exciting.” Terry Cummings, CEO Power Storage Solutions.
Educators with a passion
In August, Allen Park Elementary math and science teacher Courtney Black presented at SPACE, NASA’s Space Port Conference for Educators, showing other teachers how to incorporate rocketry into their lesson plans. Space is a passion of hers, and she loves it.
“The students are amazing and have worked very hard towards this goal,” Black says. “Their enthusiasm and dedication towards STEM and space exploration leaves me with no doubt that someday, they will be the on the other side of an ARISS contact. This group of future astronauts, engineers and educators serves as a daily inspiration and a reminder of the importance of investing in our future.”
“We have enjoyed every minute working with the students and seeing the excitement build for the ISS contact,” says Brian Darley. “We are so proud to provide the connection that will have a lifelong impact for everyone involved”.
Power Storage Solutions supports the efforts of Lee County and the ARISS project, knowing that the students will carry with them this out of this world experience for the rest of their life.
Stay tuned
Lee County ARISS Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/191258951672621/
Lee County Schools Youtube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/LeeSchoolsTV
Image Courtesy of Lee County and Nasa
Recent Comments