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NEWPORT – Pell Elementary School has become the first public school in Rhode Island to have a conversation with an astronaut aboard the International Space Station – with the help of an amateur radio operator in Belgium.
Timing was essential to establish the connection. The school called on the operator Jan Poppeliers to call the station while its orbit crossed Europe around 13:45. Tuesday. With the station about 250 miles above the Earth and a cruising speed of about 30,000 km / h, there was still about 10 minutes of time to go near Poppeliers' location in Aartselaar .
The atmosphere in the gym, where third- and fourth-grade students were on the phone with Poppeliers, was tense, his first attempts to connect to the station being stymied.
Finally, the station welcomed the answer.
"I hear you loud and clear," said American astronaut Richard "Ricky" Arnold.
Once the contact was established, some of the 20 or so students previously selected to ask a question took turns at the microphone. Among the questions asked: what is the quality of coffee at the station? What time zone do astronauts adhere to? Do they wash outside the station? Why are spacesuits always white?
The answer: Arnold said that he did not drink a lot of coffee. They synchronize their watches at the London time. No, they do not wash the satellite because the space is relatively clean after all. And the white reflects the sunlight.
He kept his answers concise in order to ask as many questions as possible before the connection was disrupted, which happened before the end of the 10 minutes.
"Do not forget people, it's an experience," said Mike Cullen, who organized the chat. Arnold is very busy, explained Cullen, as he prepares to return to Earth on Thursday with two other astronauts.
The contact was made possible by the International Amateur Radio Program of the International Space Station (ARISS) launched in 2000 which promotes the teaching of STEAM technology (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics). The All Saints Academy in Middletown had a similar conversation with a station astronaut in 2016, like Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick, the following year.
A large projection screen hung on the beams of the gym asked the questions. A much smaller screen displays the coordinates of the International Space Station, a clock counting down until the giant satellite is out of range, and a map showing its path. There was no video stream from the station.
Before communicating with the astronaut, Governor Gina Raimondo and Newport's Marvin Abney representative urged students to take science and math courses, even though they are challenging, because of career opportunities who offer to them.
STEAM training will prepare students for many careers, such as doctor, nurse, engineer, architect, teacher or perhaps astronaut, she said.
"Some of you will have jobs in your life – that do not exist anymore – because of what they do in space," said Abney.
More experiences like space chat are essential to give students visibility on STEAM, said Raimondo. Asked about the investment required to create hands-on learning opportunities, she replied, "I think it's worth it. These children will remember them all their lives and some of them will go to science because of that. "
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