International Space Station
Education and Training, Featured, General, Newsletter, Space, Youth Activities

ISS Crew Contact – The Day is Almost Here

Our ISS Crew Contact with the students from Hudson Memorial School is only about a day away.  We have been testing on-site at Hudson Memorial School for the last 3 days. Our Primary and Backup stations are ready to go.

Primary and Backup ISS Contact Stations
Primary and Backup ISS Contact Stations

Both the primary and backup antenna towers have been installed and tested.

Primary and Backup Antennas at HMS
Primary and Backup Antennas at Hudson Memorial School

We will be operating as N1FD and will be contacting astronaut Serena Aunon Chancellor, KG5TMT, who will be operating as NA1SS.

You can watch the Livestream of the contact via this link. We will be Livestreaming Video throughout the day.

We will be Livestreaming Video from the school all day on Friday. Here’s our planned timeline for the event. All times EST.

  • 8:30 am – Final Station Checkout Begins
  • 12:30 pm – Students, Parents, and Visitors can ask questions about our contact and enjoy a tour of our stations and antennas.
  • 1:15 pm – Dan, AC1EN with help from Fred, AB1OC will provide an introduction to our contact and will explain what will happen.
  • 1:45 pm – The ISS will come over the horizon and our contact will begin.
  • 2:00 pm – Students, Parents, and Visitors will have a final chance to look at our the stations and ask questions after our ISS Contact ends.

We will post a copy of the presentation materials that Dan and Fred will be covering before the contact here on our Blog tomorrow morning so that those who are watching our Livestream Video can follow along.

We will be sourcing at least two and possibly more live video streams during our contact. The main one will show the students communicating with the ISS. It will be the featured video at the top of the page at the link above. There will also be a video showing the primary and backup antennas as they track the ISS during our contact on this same page. There may be a stream from one of our members during the contact there as well.

Screen Display During the ISS Contact
Screen Display During the ISS Contact
The students and parents in the auditorium will be able to see a live video of the antennas, a satellite tracking view from MacDoppler as well as the rotor display on a screen in the auditorium.  The display will be laid out as in the photo above.
Kenzie, KE1NZY earns her Extra License
Kenzie, KE1NZY (Shown with her Dad, AC1EN) earns her Extra License

One of the students asking a question will be Mackenzie Pooler, KE1NZY/AE, 10 years old, who just earned her Extra License last weekend!

Thanks so much to the NARS Team who has worked so hard this week to get everything set up and ready for our ISS Crew Contact!

We are all very excited about the contact and can’t wait to hear the Hudson Memorial School students have their questions answered by an astronaut on the International Space Station!

Anita, AB1QB

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