Interview with an Astronaut
On Thursday, August 19th, 1999 a few selected
members of the boys and girls class were asked to do an interview with Astronaut
James Reilly. Dr. Reilly was transmitting from the Johnson Spaceflight Center
in Houston, Texas on amateur radio frequency 14.270 MHZ (20 meters). His amateur
radio callsign was W5RRR. The students got to experience short wave communications
with a ham radio brought in by SGA Mentor Teacher, Mr. K.D. Borcoman --K6KDB.
The transceiver used was an ICOM 735 running 100 watts of power into a makeshift
inverted "V" antenna placed on the roof of SGA. The students were
asked to come up with questions that they could ask Astronaut Reilly. This was
a great learning experience for the students who got to take part in the activity.
Here are a few examples of the questions that were asked:
Our beloved student, Ms. Lora Estrella, ultimately the victim of a senselessly
violent act, is seen here asking the first question.
What kind of training was needed to become an astronaut?
Are you going to be living aboard the I.S.S.?
What do you hope to accomplish while aboard the
I.S.S.?
Do you think that you will find life in space?
Astronaut James Reilly
We are grateful to the American Radio Relay League, NASA, W5RRR amateur radio
club at the Johnson Spaceflight Center, and Dr. Reilly, astronaut-in-training,
for making this event a success.
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