12/15/2023

 A student-led contact with astronauts through the Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station (ARISS) program was a great success that earned
significant media attention. On Monday, December 11, students at Harbor Creek
High School in Harborcreek, Pennsylvania, used amateur radio to talk with
Astronaut Andreas Mogensen, KG5GCZ.

The students are part of the Advanced Technologies Group, KC3SGV, an
after-school club at Harbor Creek. Fifteen of the students are licensed radio
amateurs. As ARRL News reported last week[1], their faculty advisor, Assistant
Principal Drew Mortensen, AC3DS, is a graduate of the ARRL Teachers Institute
on Wireless Technology. He utilized what he learned in the program and brought
it back to the school. The ARISS contact is just one of the many successes the
program has had.  

ARRL Education and Learning Manager Steve Goodgame, K5ATA, was on hand for the
contact, and he was impressed by the skills demonstrated by the students.  

Goodgame recalled, "From antenna assembly and installation to the actual
control operator function of the radio during the contact itself, students were
at the helm. Every student who asked a question of Commander Mogensen was a
licensed amateur radio operator. When I asked what they had planned next, the
response was, 'Well, the logical step would be to build and get a CubeSat
launched.' This is exactly the type of program we hope to help create as an
outcome of the Teachers Institute," said Goodgame.  

Local, regional, and national media took note of the students' success. Local
television newscasts (see Amateur Radio in the News[2] below) featured the
event, and NBC Journalist Harry Smith and a crew from NBC's TODAY were at the
event to tell the story about the young hams.  

This type of exposure for amateur radio is key to growing the hobby, according
to ARRL Public Relations and Outreach Manager Sierra Harrop, W5DX. "The passion
of these teenage operators led to this success story. Who doesn't love the
story of young minds doing extraordinary things in STEM through amateur radio?"
she exclaimed. ARRL Director of Development Kevin Beal, K8EAL, mentioned that
the media coverage demonstrates the impact that the donors who have funded the
Teachers Institute have on the future of amateur radio. Beal said, "The reach
goes far beyond the one-week training institute and ripples out farther than we
can see."  

The ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology is funded by the ARRL
Education and Technology Fund. If you are interested in supporting STEM
education through the Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology, visit
www.arrl.org/GiveToSTEM[3].  

ARISS is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the
space agencies that support the ISS. In the US, participating organizations
include NASA's Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program, the ISS
National Laboratory -- Space Station Explorers, ARRL[4], and AMSAT.

[1] https://arrl.org/news/arrl-teachers-institute-grad-prepares-students-for-ham-radio-contact-with-astronaut
[2] https://www.arrl.org/arrlletter?issue=2023-12-14#toc04
[3] https://www.arrl.org/GiveToSTEM
[4] http://www.arrl.org/ariss

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