We have successfully tested the ISS Telebridge capabilities here at our station. ARISS has scheduled a Multipoint Telebridge a school contact using our Ground Station for Thursday, April 30th beginning at 13:35 UTC (9:35 am Eastern Time). The Multipoint Telebridge format enables the students to contact the ISS from their homes via telephone connections…
After two successful tests of the Telebridge/Phone Patch capabilities here at our station, we are ready to support a school contact! ARISS has scheduled a Multipoint Telebridge contact using our station for next Thursday.
We’ve added some upgrades to our Space Communications Ground station to accommodate ARISS contacts with the ISS. The additions include:
I have joined the ARISS Program as a Mentor to help schools make contacts with astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS). School contacts as part of the ARISS program can take two forms – Direct Contacts and Telebridge Contacts. We have recently added Phone Patch capability to the Satellite Ground Station here….
Did you ever wonder how a Telephone Patch device is used? Back in the day, it was common for Amateur Radio operators to help families talk to their relatives and service members overseas over the air. This was done by first establishing a radio link to a foreign Amateur Radio station. Next, the Hams involved connected third party family members to each other via local telephone connections so they could speak.
A device called a Phone Patch was used to make the connections between the Amateur Radio Transceivers and the local telephone lines.
Out Of This World Phone Patch
International Space Station
We still use Telephone Patch devices to enable Schools to make contact with the International Space Station. This type of contact is called a Telebridge. A school can make a Telebridge Contact with an astronaut on board the ISS using a telephone connection to an Amateur Radio Ground Station in a different location. A Phone Patch is used to make the connection between the school and the remote Ground Station.
We’ve added a Phone Patch to our Satellite Station here to support our work with ARISS. We will use it to test school audio systems as they prepare to make contact with the ISS via Telebridge. Click on the link above to learn more about how a Phone Patch is used to make a Telebridge Contact.
Ann Stockbridge, Educator at Kennebunk’s Sea Road School
Regional School Unit 21 has been selected for an out-of-this-world opportunity. An international association of space agencies and Amateur Radio organizations has chosen RSU 21, represented by Sea Road School, to advance in a process climaxing in a conversation between students and astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
RSU 21 was one of 10 schools selected nationally to continue through the multi-month acceptance process. The contact event with the ISS could occur between July and December of this year.
The opportunity is provided by ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station), an association that includes NASA, the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, the American Radio Relay League, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, and space agencies in Canada, Japan, Europe, and Russia. They collaborate to enable students to communicate with ISS astronauts and help inspire interest in space, communications and STEM coursework.
Source: RSU 21 students to communicate to outer space – Portland Press Herald
As our readers may know, I have joined the ARISS program as a Mentor to help schools prepare for and make successful contacts with Astronauts on the International Space Station. I am working with RSU 21 Sea Road School teachers and local Ham Radio folks in Maine, USA to help them make contact with the ISS during 2H2020. The link above shares more about the STEM learning program that is being created around this contact.
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