Its been about a year since we helped students at Hudson Memorial School make contact with the ISS. That contact was enabled by ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station). ARISS is an organization that coordinates and sponsors Amateur Radio Activities aboard the ISS.

Becoming an ARISS Mentor

After our contact, I decided to become an ARISS Mentor so I could help other schools make contacts with astronauts aboard the ISS.

I spent the last year working with Dave Jordan, AA4KN to learn how the ARISS program works and how to help schools make successful ISS contacts. Dave did a great job coaching me as I worked with Council Rock H.S. South in Holland, PA to prepare for their ISS Contact.

The Team At Council Rock H.S. South

I got to know many great folks as part of Council Rock’s ISS contact. Jerry Fetter, K3OHI (upper right in the photo above) was the teacher who led the preparations for the contact. The folks in the photo above are leaders in the Warminster Amateur Radio Club. These folks worked closely with Jerry and the students at Council Rock to make the school’s ISS contact happen.

Contact Preparations

Members of the Warminster Amateur Radio Club worked with Jerry and the students at the school to get the school’s ground station ready for the contact. They also helped the student members of the Council Rock H.S. Amateur Radio Club complete all of the preparations for their contact.

They put together two space communications ground stations, a main and a backup, and tested them prior to setting them up in the school’s auditorium just before contact day.

Council Rock Amateur Radio Club

Council Rock H.S. South has an active Amateur Radio Club and student members of the club led all of the preparations for their ISS contact including creating an online presence to promote their contact with members of TV, print, and radio media.

Contact Day – Pre-Contact Presentation

Council Rock’s Contact took place on Thursday, December 5th, 2019.

Students, Teachers, Parents, and Guests began filling the school’s auditorium just after noon local time. There were an estimated 900 people in the room when the contact event began.

Jerry began the event with an amazing video about the exploration of space. You can view the video below.

Exploration of Space Video

Jerry went on to explain all that went into his school’s ISS contact and he thanked all of the students, Warminster Amateur Radio Club members, ARISS, and others who helped to make their contact possible.

Jerry next introduced Laura Floyd, KC3GWL. Laura is a Council Rock H.S. South graduate. Laura founded the school’s Amateur Radio Club while she was a student at Council Rock.

Laura contacted Jerry about a year ago and asked if she could work with him to apply for and hold an ISS Contact at the school. Laura did all of the work to prepare Council Rock’s ARISS successful ISS contact application and she was the operator who initiated the school’s contact with Drew Morgan aboard the ISS.

Making Contact with the ISS

Laura established contact with Drew aboard the ISS right on time (12:56 pm eastern time). Each of the students was able to ask and receive an answer from Drew to their questions. The ISS pass lasted a little over 10 minutes with a total of 11 questions being asked and answered by Drew before the ISS set over the horizon.

Livestream Video of Council Rock ISS Contact (Intro begins at 11:50, contact at 30:00)

Students live-streamed video of their contact to Facebook. You can view the pre-contact presentation and the actual contact via the video above (the contact introduction begins about at about 11:50 in the video and contact with the ISS begins at about 30:00; don’t forget to turn on the audio).

Listening In – A STEM Learning Experience

Kathy Lamont, KM4TAY worked along with Dave Jordan and me as an Education Mentor for the Council Rock ISS contact. Kathy enabled a group of her students in VA to listen in on the Council Rock ISS contact downlink. This sort of experience encourages students to pursue interests in STEM learning and Amateur Radio.

Local Media was Out In Force

Members of the school’s Amateur Radio Club also handled securing media coverage of their contact. As a result of some excellent work by the students, there were three local TV stations, three local newspaper reporters, and a broadcaster from a local radio station present to cover their contact.

Final Thoughts

As I sit here writing this I can’t help but feel very fortunate to have made some great friends at Council Rock. It was an amazing experience sharing in their ISS Contact. I am very proud of the excellent work that the students and teachers at Council Rock did along with the members of the Warminster Amateur Radio Club to make their contact with the ISS a success.

Experiences like this can change young people’s lives for the better. An ISS contact helps students to understand and appreciate the importance of space exploration and communications via Amateur Radio. The students at Council Rock and everyone who supported them can be very proud of what they accomplished and learned.

Fred, AB1OC
ARISS Mentor