Italian Students to Talk to Woman-Commanded International Space Station by Amateur Radio

As the Space Shuttle prepares to dock with the International Space Station, it's a good time to note that there are some interesting firsts taking place, and some traditions as well. Both the commander of the shuttle, Pamela Melroy, and the commander of the ISS, Peggy Whitson, are female, and providing strong examples of what female leadership can be. It's a great opportunity for the classroom and for parents, to provide them as role models to girls and young women, especially in the sciences, business and the military, to remind them of what they can be. This coming week, students from Liceo Scientifico G.Galilei in Rome, Italy will be talking with the International Space Station as part of the ARISS program.

It's also exciting that that commander of the International Space Station is a license amateur radio operator, callsign KC5ZTD. "Ham" radio has traditionally had a lot more males than females participating, but it has been a route into technology for some young girls, especially if one of their parents was licensed as well. It's also a pastime that can be enjoyed by many with disabilities. In the Boston area there was a woman named Kathy, severely disabled and mostly confined to home, who made dozens of friends through her hours spent talking with local ham radio operators over a local amateur radio repeater station.

With a female ham radio operator in the ISS, the ARISS program takes on new meaning, because one focus of the program is to provide contact with schools from the space station. Local "hams" set up a station in the schools, and as the space station passes overhead, students have the chance to talk with those orbiting above, asking them questions and receiving later confirmation of the contact, a "QSL card," a ham tradition. It's a sure thing that talking to a woman in space is going to be something that children of either gender are going to remember for a long time, but especially young girls. During the current space shuttle mission, the crew on the ISS is scheduled to talk with students at schools in Italy.

The first "ham" in space was Dr. Owen Garriott, W5LFL, in 1983, on STS-9. The "SAREX" program as it was called, or "Space Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment," has continued to this day, with amateur radio equipment installed in many space shuttle missions, and now in the International Space Station as part of the "ARISS" program. Even the Russian "MIR" space station made contact with many American hams while it orbited over the U.S. The equipment required is minimal, so it is something that can be enjoyed by just about anyone who knows a ham radio operator. The programs have also been expanded overseas, and children and others in countries from Europe (Italy this week) to Southeast Asia (recently Malaysia), are now being exposed to the space program and ham radio. There is more information on the SAREX program at this ARRL link, and the ARISS program at this link at the ARRL.

Even beyond the manned space contacts, there are many space-based technologies that can be explored via ham radio. Hams have placed many satellites in space, piggybacking them on launches placing other satellites into orbit. They have relayed both voice and computer communications, and many hams have the capability to use these satellites, some of which require sophisticated tracking antennae while others require very simple equipment. On the extreme end of space-based communications, there are some ham radio operators who enjoy an exotic form of communication called "moonbounce," where powerful signals are bounced off the Earth's moon and received back on earth, usually in Morse code. Ham radio is a diverse hobby, and if you try it thanks to a local "ham," you can go on to get your own license as well. Check the ARRL site, a national organization of hams, for more information, and AMSAT for more amateur radio in space information.

"ARRL Web: ARISS", http://www.arrl.org/ARISS/
"ARRL Web: Past SAREX Missions", http://www.arrl.org/ARISS/sarex-past.html
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/ariss/
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/ariss/ariss_news.php
"Ham Radios in Space", http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast21aug_1.htm
"International Space Station Reference", http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/station/reference/radio/