At 11:29 GMT on Saturday October 5, 2024, an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) radio contact between astronaut Sunita Williams KD2PLB aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and members of Girlguiding Surrey West County, took place at the Brooklands Museum and Brookland Innovation Academy, located in Weybridge, UK.

ARISS conducts 60-100 of these special Amateur Radio contacts each year between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses aboard the ISS.

Watch the recording at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxN4VuNj_AY

Girlguiding Surrey West is a charity organization for girls and young women. Girlguiding wants to inspire their members to learn skills in science, technology, engineering and math with fun guiding activities and science-based activities. The Brooklands Innovation Academy, established in 2022, creates inspirational STEM experiences for young people. The age range of the participants for this ARISS contact are 5 to 19 years old. By hosting this ARISS contact they are also demonstrating real-world application of STEM concepts (an important principle at Brooklands Museum) to space missions and are encouraging the girls to complete their space interest badge. The group is being supported by the Radio Society of Great Britain and the ARISS UK Team to establish the radio link.

Girlguiding patron, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh attended the contact to help in promoting the engagement and involvement of girls and young women in STEM. At the start of the contact she greeted Sunita Williams on board the ISS.

This was a direct contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask their questions of astronaut Sunita Williams, amateur radio call sign KD5PLB. The downlink frequency for this contact was 145.800 MHz and was heard by listeners within the ISS-footprint that also encompasses the relay ground station.

The amateur radio ground station for this contact is in Weybridge, UK. Amateur radio operators using call sign GB4GGB, operated the ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

The recording of the live stream isat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxN4VuNj_AY

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As time allows, students will ask these questions:

1. Who or what inspired you to become an astronaut and what advice would you have for any of these girls here today who might want to become an astronaut?

2. Do you have any free time and if so what do you spend your time doing?

3. There are many international time zones so how does time work on the ISS?

4. If you were not an astronaut, what job would you like to have instead?

5. What things do you like to take with you to remind you of home?

6. What is the hardest part of your job?

7. How does the food and drinks do you have in space compare to foods on earth?

8. What do you miss about Earth?

9. How long have you been on the international space station?

10. What was your reaction when you found out you had been selected to fly to the ISS?

11. What stars or other things have you seen in space?

12. Is space hot or cold?

13. Does space smell of anything?

14. How do you sleep in space?

15. What is your favorite planet and why?

16. Have you done a spacewalk? If so, what was it like?

17. The spacesuits look very heavy, are they uncomfortable to wear?

18. What is it like floating in space? Have you ever lost anything from it floating away?

19. What things do you like to take with you to remind you of home?

About ARISS:

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the ISS. In the United States, sponsors are the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC), Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program (SCaN) and the ISS National Lab—Space Station Explorers. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics. ARISS does this by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities take part in hands-on learning activities tied to space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see http://www.ariss.org/

Follow ARISS on X at https://x.com/ARISS_Intl

Those satellite enthusiasts thinking of getting their UK Amateur Radio licence may like to know a Free online training courses are available at http://hamtrain.co.uk