ARISS News Release No. 20-22
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
aa4kn@amsat.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ARISS Contact is Scheduled for
Ramona Lutheran Christian School, Ramona, CA
October 13, 2020—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule
confirmation for an ARISS radio contact with astronauts. ARISS is the group that puts together special
amateur radio contacts between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses
on the International Space Station (ISS).
This will be a direct contact via amateur radio between students at the Ramona Lutheran Christian School
(RLCS) in Ramona, CA and ISS Commander Chris Cassidy, amateur radio call sign KF5KDR. The
Ramona Outback Amateur Radio Society (ROARS) ham operators using call sign N6ROR will operate
the ground station for this contact. Students will take turns asking Cassidy their questions.
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
aa4kn@amsat.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ARISS Contact is Scheduled for
Ramona Lutheran Christian School, Ramona, CA
October 13, 2020—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule
confirmation for an ARISS radio contact with astronauts. ARISS is the group that puts together special
amateur radio contacts between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses
on the International Space Station (ISS).
This will be a direct contact via amateur radio between students at the Ramona Lutheran Christian School
(RLCS) in Ramona, CA and ISS Commander Chris Cassidy, amateur radio call sign KF5KDR. The
Ramona Outback Amateur Radio Society (ROARS) ham operators using call sign N6ROR will operate
the ground station for this contact. Students will take turns asking Cassidy their questions.
The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for October 14, 2020 at 9:26 am PDT (Ramona) (16:26 UTC,
12:26 pm EDT, 11:26 am CDT and 10:26 am MDT).
RLCS (with students in preschool through sixth grade) is located in an unincorporated mountain
community approximately 40 miles northeast of San Diego. In addition to the school's classical course
curriculum, RLCS also involves students in STEM-enrichment club activities that include robotics, coding,
physics, space-related sciences, and radio theory. In 2019, the Amateur Radio Relay League awarded
RLCS an Icom IC-9700 radio built and designed for communications with amateur radio
satellites—resulting in the first school radio station in Ramona, and one solar-powered thanks to
equipment provided by ROARS. The ARISS contact will utilize this set-up. ROARS members have helped
students prepare for their ARISS contact and mentored them on amateur radio operating protocol
including emergency communications and Morse code practice.
ARISS invites the public to view a livestream of the pre-action (join 20 minutes beforehand) and the
upcoming ARISS radio contact at https://youtu.be/jDTydjM60_k .
_____________________________
As time allows, students will ask these questions:
1. How has Expedition 63 changed your outlook on life?
2. What is your favorite thing to look at in space?
3. What is most difficult when you are recovering from returning to Earth?
4. What does it feel like when you are on a spacewalk?
5. What was the strangest thing that's happened to you while you were in space?
6. What is your favorite activity when you have free time on the ISS?
7. How likely do you think it is that I will visit outer space in my lifetime, even if I never become an astronaut?
8. What does it feel like to sleep on the ISS?
9. What mission were you most scared of?
10. What are your favorite experiences of Expedition 63?
11. What has been your favorite experiment on the ISS?
12. About how many repairs are made each week aboard the ISS?
13. What is your favorite game to play in space?
14. What are your 3 favorite foods to eat while on the ISS?
15. What language has been the most challenging to communicate aboard the ISS?
16. What food are you most looking forward to eating when you get home?
17. What fear have you had regarding space?
18. What surprises you the most about how the ISS is today than when you were part of the assembly mission?
19. Which holidays have you enjoyed celebrating on the ISS?
20. What's your favorite number of people aboard the ISS at one time?
21. Who was your favorite astronaut that you have met from another country?
22. What way(s) could we utilize space to help manage our problems with waste disposal on Earth?
23. Do you hope to go back to space or the moon in a commercial space suit via a commercial vehicle?
24. How do you use ham radio on the ISS and after you return to Earth?
ARISS – Celebrating 20 Years of Continuous Amateur Radio Operations on the ISS
About ARISS:
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international
amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the
United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio
Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, and NASA's Space
Communications and Navigation program. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of
science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics by organizing scheduled contacts via
amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio
contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and
amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org.
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international
amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the
United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio
Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, and NASA's Space
Communications and Navigation program. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of
science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics by organizing scheduled contacts via
amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio
contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and
amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org.
Media Contact:
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
