Successful ARISS contact at ZESPOL SZKOL in Stobierna Poland

[IK0ZCW]

Written by ON4WF
Friday, 07 February 2014 12:26

Wednesday November 27th, 2013 at 09:22 UTC, which is 10:22 CEWT, students from Junior High Schools Complex in Stobierna, Poland established an ARISS contact with JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata, aboard the International Space Station. The astronaut operated with the ISS call sign NA1SS. This was a telebridge contact operated by Tony Hutchison, amateur radio station VK5ZAI located in Kingston, South Australia.

The Stobierna School Complex started preparations for this event in 2011. They wanted to prepare a contact for two schools. However, their Space Station Center in Globikowa is located in the mountains where, at this period of the year, conditions for setting up antenna systems are unfavourable. For this reason they opted for a telebridge contact.

For a period of two years, pupils attended scientific meetings and some of them prepared their own presentations. They built models of PW-SAT, the first Polish satellite (cube-sat), which was launched about one year ago. They organized competitions on astronomy and space flights at their own school and with other schools. Young first class pupils attended an art competition about astronautics. They collaborated for these activities with the school in Brzeznica, which was going to perform a telebridge ARISS contact the following week.

During these two years, the children learned how to use a HAM radio. In 2012, the school organized the Second Polish-wide ARISS Conference in Pustkow-Osiedle. It took place in the Debica Region Library and Culture Centre. There was an exhibition for participants and invited guests, with very old crystal radios as well as modern HAM transceivers. HAM diplomas and QSL cards were also presented.