[K6BW] San Rafael QSO to Intl. Space Station

[K6 BBQ]

Good morning Hamilton hams,

I heard on KCBS radio yesterday that a school (St. Mark's) in San Rafael
had a classroom QSO yesterday with the International Space Station and 
Astronaut
Leroy Chiao.

I think this QSO was arranged through the ARISS program even though 
ARISS wasn't mentioned, only that it is a part of NASA's Teaching From 
Space program.

What I don't know is what group of hams helped out during this QSO.
This would have been an excellent time to have some PR on ham radio and 
it still
may be.  During the news report yesterday and in today's Marin IJ 
story,  ham radio was not mentioned.

If you or someone you know was involved in this please let me know.  It 
may not be too late to still get the media's interest and get a piece 
done about ham radio.  I could get your thoughts and quotes to help 
build the story.

Thank you and 73,


Rem
K6BBQ
k6bbq at arrl.net

Marin Independent Journal
Phone call from space
By Jennifer Upshaw
IJ reporter

Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - Saint Mark's School yesterday entertained 
visitors from outer space.

Students at the Terra Linda private school chatted via live video 
downlink with Cmdr. Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov. 
The call from the members of the Expedition 10 crew in the 
International Space Station was the only one of its kind to California 
and just one of seven domestic calls the two-man crew will make during 
the six-month mission.

"This morning we have the remarkable experience of talking to people in 
space," Headmaster Damon Kerby told the students moments before the 
school made the connection with space.

"Who knows?" he said. "Maybe one of you will be in space 30 years from 
now."

Part of NASA's Teaching from Space program, the downlink aired live on 
the Internet and on NASA TV.

The 20-minute long-distance phone call featured a question-and-answer 
session, much of which Sharipov, enjoying zero gravity, participated in 
upside down.

The students lucked out thanks to Saint Mark's parent Judy Smith. 
Smith, whose daughter Julia is a fifth-grader, is Chiao's sister.

A native of Danville, the expedition commander is a veteran of three 
space shuttle flights. He spent 13 hours on two space walks in 2000 as 
part of a construction mission at the station.

The crew of two took off from Kazakhstan aboard the Russian spacecraft 
Soyuz on Oct. 13, 2004, docking at the space station two days later. 
The two men are set to return to Earth on April 24.

Smaller children wanted to know if the two men believed in space 
aliens, what happened if they got sick and how they got fresh air to 
breathe.

First-grader Michelle Ullman asked the cosmonaut her question - "what 
does space look like?" - in Russian.

Fifth-grader Caitlyn Birer wanted to know what landmarks were visible 
from space.

Enjoying a view from 230 to 250 miles up, Chiao told the students that 
cities, airports and big bridges were all visible from space. He's been 
looking for the Great Wall of China, he said. No luck yet.

Older children quizzed the space men about exercise in space, space 
walks, scientific experiments and the death of the space shuttle 
Columbia crew.

"How did the Columbia shuttle accident affect you as an astronaut?" 
seventh-grader Alex Norman wanted to know.

"It was quite a personal tragedy as well as a professional tragedy," 
Chiao said. "It took us awhile to get over it. ... We'll keep going 
forward."

The end of the call elicited wild cheers from the audience of adults 
and children.

"I think it went great," said Diane Bredt, who teaches seventh and 
eighth grade science and helped coordinate the project. "In fact, 
better. It was so fun to look out and see all the kids."

Fourth-grader Olivia Williams thought the morning was well-spent.

"It's just cool to talk to people in space," she said.

Contact Jennifer Upshaw via e-mail at jupshaw at marinij.com

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