Abstract:
The shuttle astronauts, who blasted off Thursday for what is planned to be the longest shuttle flight ever, will converse with Orange County students as well as other teams of students around the world as part of the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) program, designed to show the feasibility of "ham radio" communication with manned spacecraft. Only 10 schools worldwide will participate in the experiment during this mission, said college spokesman Henry Kertman.
Full Text:
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As the space shuttle Columbia glides 184 miles above California on Sunday, astronauts on board will try to make contact with a group of high school and college students at Rancho Santiago College as part of an experiment in radio communications.
The shuttle astronauts, who blasted off Thursday for what is planned to be the longest shuttle flight ever, will converse with Orange County students as well as other teams of students around the world as part of the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) program, designed to show the feasibility of "ham radio" communication with manned spacecraft. Only 10 schools worldwide will participate in the experiment during this mission, said college spokesman Henry Kertman.
During their off-duty hours, Commander Richard N. Richards and mission specialist Ellen S. Barker, both amateur radio operators, will use hand-held radios to talk with 30 Santa Ana Unified high school and Rancho Santiago College students.
Spearheaded by philosophy professor Douglas Borcoman and Patrick Francois, chairman of the college's electronics department, the experiment will use a satellite communications antenna placed atop a two-story building at the Santa Ana campus. On Sunday at 9 a.m., students nearby in a large lecture room in Hammond Hall will switch on their radio and attempt to hail the Columbia.
One high school and one college student, chosen by an academic contest, will speak to the astronauts during one of the shuttle's six-minute passes over Southern California. Also, if the Russian space station, MIR, becomes visible to the crew of the Columbia, SAREX may be used to attempt a conversation with the MIR cosmonauts, who also have a radio aboard, Borcoman said.
The experiment is a joint effort of National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Amateur Radio Satellite Corp. and the Johnson Space Center Amateur Radio Club. Byline: JON NALICK