Antietam
Elementary
School
students
talked
with
Commander
Chris
Cassidy
through
Amateur
Radio
on
the
International
Space
Station
(ARISS)
in
the
first-ever
virtual
multipoint
telebridge.
Six
students
asked
Cassidy
questions
during
the
short
time
frame
that
was
allotted
for
the
event.
Throughout
the
school
year,
ARISS
assists
with
connecting
schools
to
the
crew
aboard
the
International
Space
Station
(ISS).
Normally,
at
a
school
site,
students
would
gather
in
one
room
to
participate.
A
licensed
amateur
radio
operator
would
set-up
equipment
at
the
school
that
would
connect
students
to
the
ISS
at
a
scheduled
time.
However,
this
year,
with
the
closure
of
schools,
ARISS
found
a
way
to
add
the
element
of
connecting
students
virtually
from
their
homes.
The
solution
was
building
a
multipoint
telebridge.
Antietam
Elementary
Gifted
Education
Teacher
Kathy
Lamont,
who
is
also
a
member
of
the
ARISS
education
and
executive
committee,
volunteered
Antietam
students
to
take
part
in
the
first
multipoint
telebridge
with
the
ISS.
From
their
homes,
each
student
dialed
into
a
conference
call
and
logged
into
ARISS'
newly
created
YouTube
channel.
From
his
home
in
Rhode
Island,
Steve
Rys
was
the
master
control
of
the
live
YouTube
feed,
which
included
a
graphic
depiction
tracking
the
location
of
the
ISS.
The
channel
also
served
as
a
way
to
share
informational
videos
with
students
about
ARISS
and
the
technology
used
to
conduct
space
chats
with
the
ISS.
John
Kludt,
based
at
his
home
in
Atlanta,
Georgia,
served
as
the
program
moderator.
Kludt
kept
tabs
on
the
ISS,
shared
information
and
introduced
Fred
Kemmerer,
the
radio
operator
responsible
for
making
contact
with
the
ISS.
Kemmerer
used
his
40-foot
antenna
at
his
home
in
New
Hampshire
to
contact
Cassidy
aboard
the
ISS.
Rys
shared
a
live
video
feed
of
the
ISS
as
it
started
flying
over
Canada.
The
students
and
volunteers
were
excited
as
the
time
drew
closer
to
begin
contact
with
the
ISS,
which
would
only
be
in
range
of
Kemmerer's
radio
signal
for
about
10
minutes.
"November
Alpha
One
Sierra
Sierra
this
is
Alpha
Bravo
One
Oscar
Charlie,
any
copy?"
Kemmerer
called
out.
After
several
attempts,
Kemmerer
switched
from
his
primary
channel,
then
to
his
back-up
channel
and
back
to
his
primary
channel.
Five
minutes
had
past
before
Kemmerer
called
his
contact
at
NASA
in
Huntsville,
Alabama.
Cassidy
was
having
technical
difficulties
with
the
radio
on-board
the
ISS.
Determined
to
have
a
successful
space
chat
for
the
Antietam
students,
Kemmerer
continued
to
call
and
finally
made
contact.
Miles,
a
second-grader,
was
the
first
to
ask
Cassidy
a
question,
"What
does
the
sun
look
like
from
outer
space?"
He
can
barely
be
heard
through
the
teleconference
connection.
Kemmerer
asked
Miles
to
repeat
the
question
and
the
audio
was
still
hard
to
understand.
Cassidy,
who
had
a
list
of
the
questions,
volunteered
to
answer
them.
In
response
to
Miles
he
said,
"Good
question
Miles.
The
sun
is
the
same
exact
appearance
that
we
see
on
Earth.
It's
the
same
size
and
the
same
intensity,
although
we
don't
have
the
protection
of
the
atmosphere,
so
it's
very,
very
bright
for
us."
Cassidy
continues
with
the
next
question,
which
is
from
Henry,
a
kindergartner,
who
asked,
"How
comfortable
is
it
to
sleep
in
space?"
The
astronaut
explained
that
they
float
inside
sleeping
bags
tied
to
a
wall
and
once
they
get
use
to
not
having
a
pillow,
it's
very
comfortable.
Kemmerer
chimes
in
asking
Cassidy
to
stand-by,
then
asks
Catherine,
a
kindergartener,
to
ask
her
question.
Despite
some
static,
the
question
can
be
heard
by
Cassidy.
Two
more
student
questions
were
heard
and
answered
by
Cassidy
before
the
ISS
moved
out
of
the
range
of
Kemmerer's
antenna.
Lamont
was
excited
to
provide
this
opportunity
for
students.
"I
love
being
able
to
connect
students
to
real
activities
and
real
careers.
Anything
that
gets
students
more
aware
of
their
surroundings
and
shows
them
that
they
are
a
part
of
the
much
larger
community
is
key,"
she
shared.
Check out the video to hear Antietam students making history by talking to an astronaut aboard the ISS from their homes. ARISS has also shared the full program on their YouTube channel.