On September 2, a very interesting meeting was held at the observatory in Givatayim. A project born at the initiative of "Rosh Gadol" the science magazine for young people and the radio amateurs association in Israel has reached its peak - a conversation about radio amateurs with the International Space Station
Avi Blizovsky
On September 2, a very interesting meeting was held at the observatory in Givatayim. A project born at the initiative of "Rosh Gadol" the science monthly for young people and the radio amateurs association in Israel has reached its peak - a conversation about radio amateurs with the International Space Station.
Elementary and middle school students from the central region gathered at the observatory where radio enthusiasts from Israel set up a radio station especially for the occasion. With the help of a sophisticated radio device, an adjustable antenna and a contact code given to the NASA project, the satellite connection with the station was established.
In the excellent performance of Shlomo Menuhin, an expert in satellite communications, and engineer Ziv Gilad, one of the top radio enthusiasts in Israel.
At the same time, Peggy Whitson was waiting for the moment when the station would pass over the Middle East region. Peggy is the only American astronaut currently on the International Space Station. The station cruises at an average height of about 450 kilometers above the Earth's surface and orbits the Earth approximately once every hour and a half. The route is a bit complicated and it brings her slowly over many areas of the earth and the circle that marked the field of view of the space station on the map seems quite small. In any case, as it turned out later, the time from the space station's sunrise on the horizon (the western one, by the way) to its sunset (in terms of Israeli skies) is a total of ten minutes.
The station was operated by the amateurs Shlomo Menuhin (4X1AS) and Ziv Gilad (4X1UK).
In any case, among the other equipment at the station there is also an amateur radio. At the initiative of Dr. Zohar Guri, editor of the magazine Rosh Gadol (a science magazine for children written in excellent language and providing a lot of knowledge), she managed to get the precious ten minutes of air time from NASA at one o'clock in the afternoon on the second day of school. The director of the Israel Space Agency, Avi Har-Evan, also helped the project and of course it would not have been possible to carry it out without the help of radio enthusiasts.
The children, in excellent English, learned the questions by heart and the answers.
Gadi Binyamini: How does the human body behave during a long stay in zero gravity?
Whitson: "We need to do physical activity, about two hours every day so that the calcium does not escape us"
Zvika Komsky: At what height and speed do you manage to keep the spacecraft stable?
Whitson: We are 260 miles from Earth, and traveling at 17,500 miles per hour. We have an engine, and we also use the engines of Russian spaceships of the Progress model, or of the American space shuttle for the purpose of stabilizing the orbit or changing it.
Noa Rapoport: How do you distinguish between "up" and "down". Is there artificial gravity on the station?
Whitson: "There is no artificial gravity on the station. As for up and down, that's a very interesting thing. Basically, where you are standing, there are things that you see when they are above you, and there are things that you see below, but you can turn around and then everything will change. You have to get used to it."
Mor Rafih: "How do you get fresh water and air?"
Whitson: "We occasionally receive Progress model supply spacecraft that supply us with fresh water and air.
In addition, we have reservoirs that we use for EVA (spacewalk outside the spacecraft). In case of emergency we can also use these reserves."
Ariel Shafrir: Do you recycle the trash on the ferry?
Whitson: "Currently the only thing we recycle is the water. We take in the moisture from the air - for example, that which is created in sweat, and we turn it into drinkable water."
Yaniv Levy: I saw pictures of plants on the space station. How do they know which direction to grow?
Whitson: "On Earth, plants respond to both light and gravity. At the station, they only react in the direction of the light (in the laboratory)."
Uriah Rosenman: What are the main experiments above?
Whitson: "We have a wide range of experiments on the shuttle. Some of them concern the behavior of the human body in space conditions. Other experiments examine physical fields - for example, the behavior of proteins, or the growth of crystals."
Mor Glotter: "How do you cope with the rapid changes between day and night, when it comes to working hours?
We have day and night every hour and a half, but we got used to it, among other things, because we don't have many windows."
Nadav Schlesinger: How do you spend your free time?
"I like to look out the window and see the earth, but there are also other things, such as reading books."
Jordan Shelah: What protects the residents of the station from cosmic radiation?
"At our height, the Earth's magnetosphere still protects us somewhat. But the levels here are much higher than on the ground. So there is not enough protection against radiation."
Ron Binyamini: When will the space station be fully operational and how many tenants is it planned for?
"When the station is completed it will be able to carry seven astronauts. The station is constantly growing as laboratory and residential areas for the staff members are added to it. The parts already assembled are fully functional.”
Mai Rekanti (who was absent and her question was asked by Alon Peled): What do you think about when you see the Earth from space?
Whitson: "One thing that always amazes me is how thin the atmosphere is, and how fragile the earth is."
Matan Rosenfeld: When you work outside the station, how do you ensure your return?
Whitson: "We are very careful when we leave the station. We have cables and a robotic arm that connect us and the operators check that we are connected to the station."
Itai Raz: Do you see Israel now from space?
Whitson: "I am currently in an inner room on the shuttle. If I had been near the window I would have seen."
Yael Yair: What happens if you get sick, and are there doctors or medicines on the spacecraft?
Whitson: "The astronauts are trained to help their friends in the medical field. Of course, they are assisted by a doctor who is on the ground in diagnosing and administering the correct medications."
Daniel Kleinman: Do you think there will be space tourism in the future?
Whitson: "Tourism has already started. We already had two tourists and the third should arrive in October."
Roni Elad: How long did you train before the task?
Whitson: "I trained for two and a half years for the mission on the space station, and before that I trained for a year and a half in general training for astronauts."
Tomer Hadassi: How is the food at the station? do you have any sweets
"The food is pretty good but I like my cookies best."
Mor Rafih: Do you miss your family and how often do you call them?
"I miss the color green. to the grass I really like being sent photos that show a lot of green. I call my husband every day and my parents about once every week or two."
Zvika Komsky: Is it scary to fly in space? Did you have any fears at launch?
"I was so looking forward to the flight and I was so excited that I wasn't afraid at all during takeoff."
In any case, this was the last question, and here the representative of the radio amateurs organization thanked Peggy, that her spaceship was getting further and further away anyway.
Director of the Israel Space Agency Avi Har-Evan read the letter of the Minister of Science, Culture and Sports Matan Vilnai who fell ill and was unable to attend the event.
dear students
When we look at the sky today, we again do not see only stars in them, but also the work of man - satellites and spaceships. The means of communication allow us not only to watch them from afar, but also to talk to the people sailing in space on the mission of humanity and science.
We hope that by the end of the year there will also be a representative of the State of Israel among them - Col. Ilan Ramon, who will go aboard an American spaceship, on a journey of research in space, as our first messenger outside the atmosphere.
The conversation you will have, the readers of "Rosh Gadol", outstanding students in space sciences - with the assistance of the Radio Amateurs Association in Israel and with the support of the Israel Space Agency, in the Ministry of Science, Culture and Sports - will surely be an exciting conversation. But in my eyes, its main importance is that it will illustrate to you that flying into space is no longer "in the sky" today, but a very practical possibility, and that space pilots are people like me and you, who invested the time and effort necessary to get there.
If you really want it, you have not bad chances to integrate yourself into the world of space - because Israel, which is among the most developed countries in the world in terms of technological ability, belongs to the prestigious club of eight countries (only!) in the world that have developed, produced and launched satellites into space.
Space is today one of the main fields of action of the new Israeli pioneering, scientific and technological pioneering - and you are invited to act in this field and fulfill all your dreams in it.
Matan Vilnai - Minister of Science, Culture and Sports
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And some comments
Thanks to Gali Teshal for allowing me to record from their headphones, and thanks to Dr. Zohar Guri for inviting her. Yes, there will be many such events that show us that apart from our little egg there is a big world that also deals with areas larger than life. And another small note: Yael Yair, Daniel Kleinman, Roni Elad and Tomer Hadassi were not present and their questions were asked by the participants who were present.
In the photo: Astronaut Peggy Whitson operates equipment on the International Space Station. From the NASA website
A more detailed article will appear in the next issue of the journal
