Contact

Up there, in the night sky, a small speck of white light can be seen, moving swiftly over you, at a speed of 27,743.8 km/h, almost 23 times the speed of sound. It doesn't appear to be moving that fast because you're looking at it from 330 - 410km away. Regardless, you will only see it for a period of 2 to 5 minutes before it disappears from view, but you may it see it again, and again. After all, this large man-made object does complete 15.7 orbital rotations around the Earth in one day. But this object is not the Hubble Telescope or a very big weather satellite. It's actually the International Space Station (ISS), a large habitable artificial satellite, that was collectively constructed by the Unites States, Russia, Canada, Japan, and the 11 member states of the European Space Agency. It was built for scientific research, space exploration, and education & cultural outreach.

Starting in 1998, the necessary components (currently 159 in all) were launched by American & Russian rockets and spacecraft and assembled in space by highly trained astronauts (cosmonauts if you're Russian). Originally intended to be completed in 2006, the majority of components were not installed until 2011. The 450,000kg station is large enough to hold a crew of six. Since 2001, the ISS has become a popular destination for space tourists. So far, only 7 individuals have travelled to the station in Russian Soyuz spacecraft. You too can experience this once in a lifetime opportunity by contacting the Space Adventures tourism company and paying between $20 - 40 million USD.

One of the education programs that is offered via the ISS is the ARISS program. ARISS stands for Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, and is a volunteer program designed to inspire "students, worldwide, to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math through amateur radio communication opportunities with the International Space Station (ISS) on-orbit crew." The program is an offshoot of the SAREX (Space Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment) program, where students from all over the world would speak with astronauts orbiting around the Earth in one of the four American space shuttles. On the ARISS website, it is stated that when an application is submitted, the school needs to wait between 1.5 to 2 years before contact is made. And on Wednesday, February 8th, 2012, it was Inuksuk High School's turn.

There are two available options for contact: Direct and Telebridge. The direct option means setting up an amateur radio link just between the school and the ISS. Telebridge means contact between the ISS and the school is made via a dedicated ARISS station on the planet. In this case, contact would be established via Telebridge in the following chain: Inuksuk-Halifax-Honolulu-ISS.

When it was time, the entire student body converged in the gym which had been set up for the occasion. Two large screens stood on stage, and the large radio antenna sat to the left of the stage, next to a small screen that showed the orbiting position of the ISS. Also attending were students from local elementary schools, and Nunavut politicians, including the premier, Eva Aariak. Naturally, the event was covered by the CBC and local radio stations.

Before radio contact was established, the audience was treated to a presentation about ARISS, the ISS, space travel, and NASA by several visiting NASA astronauts. The presentation included videos, lectures, and small robot demonstrations. After that, the radio link was first established with Halifax & Honolulu, and tested by having the twenty selected students practice reading their questions. Due to the limited window of time, only one minute would be devoted to each question & response. Then Terry Young, the principal, made his opening remarks. Once that was out of the way, the moment had arrived. When the ISS was within range of Honolulu, radio contact was established and through the mild static, everyone could hear the voice of astronaut Don Pettit, who launched into space on December 21, 2011 for a six month stay on the station.

Like clockwork, each student came up and asked their question, making sure they ended with the word "over", short for "I have finished talking and am now listening for your reply." Some of them looked nervous but got through it even though they were being photographed and videotaped by the CBC. Example of questions that were asked: How do you become an astronaut?; What is life like on the ISS?; What do you do in your spare time?; What kind of food do you eat in space?; & What's the best part about being in space? Unfortunately, not all students got a chance to ask their questions. Around 12 - 13 students got the chance. If only the ISS crew could slow down the speed of the station. Regardless, after radio contact was lost, all the chosen students were given a round of applause. This was followed by a speech from the premier and the NASA volunteers.

To celebrate the event, everyone was treated to a well prepared lunch in the cafeteria, featuring several traditional Inuit dishes and cakes. As I stood with several teachers, eating my caribou stew, I admitted to myself that being present at an ARISS event was pretty exciting. Asking a question to an astronaut sounds simple enough, but the knowledge of communicating into outer space is what amplifies the experience. When I was in high school, the ISS was just starting to get built. I suppose my school could have applied for SAREX but that never happened.

Unfortunately, due to a blizzard rolling through Iqaluit, the presentation on the northern lights had to be postponed until Thursday morning. As well, most of the student body was sent home before the blizzard forced the cancellation of the school buses. Teaching staff on the other hand had to remain at the school until the end of the day. That gave me time to prepare for future lessons. However, progress was slow because I spent most of the time thinking about the radio contact and promising myself to find a way to journey into space.