The Cupertino Courier

Cover Story

Photograph courtesy of NASA

Reaching Students: Astronaut Sunita Williams talked person-to person with students at Dilworth Elementary School.

Space Talk

Students at Dilworth Elementary School have a personal chat with the international space station

By Erin Hussey

Often when teachers ask their students if they have any questions, the response is averted eyes and complete silence.

This wasn't the case on Jan. 8.

Starting at 9 a.m., 24 fourth- and fifth- graders from the Gifted and Talented Education program at Dilworth Elementary School sat jittering with nerves and excitement. Within precisely 36 minutes, each student would have the opportunity, via amateur radio, to ask Sunita Williams, NASA commander on board the International Space Station, one question.

"We're getting closer; is anyone else nervous now except me?" Susan Gauthier, GATE teacher and Dilworth librarian, asked her students. A somewhat hesitant but synchronized "yes" followed. But as the 0936 hour approached and the students lined up with their white index cards, they seemed well prepared for the task at hand.

In an effort to excite students about science, math and technology, the Amateur Radio on International Space Station program encourages schools and other organizations to apply for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to use amateur radios to speak with astronauts. Gauthier submitted Dilworth's application more than 2 1/2 years ago.

"ARISS came about in approximately 1986," said Don Anastasia, licensed amateur radio ham who pitched the ARISS program to Gauthier in 2004. "They were using amateur radio as an experiment on the space shuttle, but once the space station was up, they decided to really try and concentrate on making contacts with schools so the students could learn more about amateur radios and the space program."

Anastasia, who is a full-time student at Santa Clara University, has been working with amateur radios since he was a teenager. During the Dilworth-International Space Station contact, he provided set-up and ran the radio ground station with fellow ham Don Ferguson.

The station consisted of a 100-watt VHF transceiver, a track box that controlled the outdoor high beam antenna and a small computer. Anastasia and Ferguson also brought an entire backup radio station, just in case.

"It is running on a vertical antenna, which isn't as effective, but it could take care of everything in an emergency," Anastasia said. Fortunately, the second-string station wasn't needed.

"NA1SS, this is AA6W Don with Dilworth Elementary; do you copy?" Anastasia said into the receiver.

Static followed. Again he called into the receiver. The students, parents and volunteers remained completely silent, waiting in anticipation.

"AA6W, this is NA1SS; we read you loud and clear. Over," Commander Williams' voice scratched through before becoming surprisingly clear. Within nine minutes, the static returned, and it was over. Luckily, that's all the time Dilworth Elementary needed for its 24 questions.

Providing a successful connection with space wasn't the only reason Ferguson and Anastasia volunteered for the Dilworth event.

"Ham radio operators like to expose the next generations to it because there are a lot of technologies that literally developed from amateur radio operators," Anastasia said. "For example, text messaging was an early form of packet radio where we were sending data streams back and forth."

While Ferguson enjoys the technical aspects of amateur radio, he also thinks students and people in general should know about its importance in emergencies.

"When police and fire departments have a problem or a search and rescue, because they have different radios, they don't always connect with each other," he said. "That's when we go in and add ham radio operators. We also have portable stuff that we can set up in a moment and run off of car batteries--we are sort of survivalists."

With close to 270 ARISS contacts throughout the nine participating countries, NASA is also hoping to plant similar seeds of interest in students.

"One of NASA's goals with this is to inspire students to look at the math and sciences and some of the amazing things we do with the space station and get them jazzed about it so they say, 'Yeah, that is something I want to do,' " NASA mentor Tim Bosma said.

After the applause had died down and the students were released for recess, many ran out still talking about Williams and how they too want to be astronauts when they grow up.

"If you look at the great people today, something sparked them in their younger life," Dilworth parent Siva Makineni said. "This could be that spark for them."

For more information on the Amateur Radio on International Space Station program visit www.rac.ca/ariss/.

Conversations in Space

In less than nine minutes, Dilworth fourth- and fifth- grade GATE students were able to ask Sunita Williams, NASA commander aboard the International Space Station, a total of 24 questions. Below is a sampling.

Q: What is the most impressive scene in outer space?

A: I think the most impressive scene up here is actually seeing the whole planet; it's pretty impressive. We live in a beautiful place.

Q: Does the lack of gravity affect the way you think or the way your body functions?

A: You're absolutely right. Gravity does affect the way your body functions, because your muscles are used to working on the ground and in space they have to relearn that gravity is not helping them, for example, going to the bathroom.

Q: What advice would you give to kids following in your footsteps?

A: I think if anybody wants to be an astronaut, they can be. A couple things to keep in mind: Pick a job that you like or an occupation that you like, and do it well. We are looking for all types of occupations to be astronauts. Secondly keep yourself in good health.

Q: What are some of your daily activities?

A: We do work out twice a day because we have to work on our bone and muscle mass that doesn't get loaded by the effects of gravity; we have to work out on weight equipment. We also do a bunch of science activities, maintenance activities and work on building the space station.

Q: Can you grow plants and if so, which direction will they grow without gravity?

A: We do grow plants, and they grow in every which direction because we don't have gravity up here. We do have plants growing in a centrifuge, and when they are there, they have a direction to grow in because there is a little bit of artificial gravity.

Q: How long does it take to get to the International Space Station?

A: It took about 8 ¹/2 minutes to get to space but about two days to get to the space station because we had to line up for our rendezvous between the two space crafts and that takes a little bit of time.

Q: What is the longest amount of time someone has stayed in space?

A: The longest amount of time someone has stayed in space was a little over a year. It was a Russian doctor. He worked out while he was up here, and he was healthy and fine when he came back home.

Q: If you can, give us a bit of advice for future astronauts.

A: One bit of advice is be adventurous, but again stay healthy and remember not to take your health for granted. Always try to learn new things and you will go very far.