There will be a live public stream of the event on youtube, and a recording available afterwards, but the school on the day is not open to the public. Watch the live stream to take part online here – make sure to check for the latest time and date for the event.
There are two events, one in Dublin and one in Cork. Both events will be live streamed and will happen on different weeks.
IRISH STUDENTS GEAR UP TO MAKE AIRWAVES IN SPACE!
-Tallaght Community School to make direct contact with the International Space Station while in orbit via Amateur Radio-
Students from Tallaght Community School will make history this year, as they have been announced as the first Irish schools who will make direct radio contact with the International Space Station (ISS) while in orbit. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is part of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station programme (ARISS), which will see Irish students from both schools speaking with Italian astronaut Paulo Nespoli while he orbits the Earth on the ISS
For a brief timeframe during Expedition 52 and 53, Nespoli and the rest of the crew on the ISS will be traveling at 27,600 km/h and for 6 to 12 minutes will be passing directly over Tallaght Community School. In order to carry out this real-time Earth-to-space radio contact, which uses amateur radio equipment to beam a line-of-sight signal to the ISS, the schools will set up a temporary radio station on the grounds which will include an antenna, two radio systems and a back-up system, which will allow students to speak directly with Nespoli while he takes a break from his duties and experiments on board the ISS. The closer the space station flies to the Tallaght the stronger and clearer the audio feed will get. At one point during this fantastic feat of broadcast engineering, the ISS will be 400km in the sky directly above the school.
Amateur Radio is a hobby which facilitates the learning of how radio technology works, communicating with others and investigating the mysteries of long distance communication. ARISS is a global voluntary group that formalised a programme for utilising radio equipment on-board the ISS as a channel for further educating schools across the world on the work of the international space programme, life on-board the ISS, expeditions which astronauts are undertaking and amateur radio. This is a highly competitive programme that receives thousands of applications from schools across the globe. Every six months the application process opens, enabling schools to apply to be chosen as one of the select few to make space contact six or 12 months later. Schools in the home country of the specific astronaut on a given expedition, which in this case is Italian Paulo Nespoli, receive 70 percent of the limited number of these contact events a year and so for countries such as Ireland, it is extremely difficult to be chosen.
After applying for the second time to this amazing science programme, Tallaght Community School were a stand out choice due to their Inspiring Science Education initiative which promotes hands on, inquiry-based and collaborative learning. It provides the tools to make science education more challenging, playful and above all more imaginative and inspiring for today’s students. Teachers at Tallaght Community School are also members of the Galileo Teacher Training Programme which creates a series of professional development activities designed to help teachers and educators to learn and create resources on big topics in Astronomy and Planetary science.
This ‘out of this world encounter’ will be an extra special experience for all students involved and will awaken in them an interest in a variety of ‘new frontiers’ including space, astronomy, engineering, broadcasting and amateur radio. In the months leading up to the radio contact, both schools have a brimming programme of fun and interesting events planned to prepare students. The school will be showing 3D footage from inside the International Space Station, organised through the Northern Ireland Space Office, and students will be making trips to Dunsink Observatory in Blanchardstown and the state-of-the art Armagh Observatory.
Speaking with excitement at this announcement, Principal Teresa Hennessy of Tallaght Community School and all the students and staff at the school when I say that our excitement levels have hit another stratosphere! We are extremely proud of the science programmes which our schools offer and are delighted that it has been recognised globally with this amazing opportunity. We are excited to further blast off into the sphere of science with a whole spectrum of exciting mini events and projects in preparation for actual space contact. This is an opportunity and experience which our students will never forget.”
Working with the students and staff of both schools, Daniel Cussen, ARISS Radio Technical Co-ordinator will be on-hand to ensure their temporary mission control radio station is up and functioning. Speaking at this announcement Daniel Cussen commented: “I am thrilled for Tallaght Community School to be awarded this fantastic honour and educational experience. I have worked with many schools in Europe to facilitate contact with the ISS, but as an Irishman I am delighted to be working with Irish students as they leave their mark in history as the first students to make direct space contact. Amateur radio is an area which I am extremely passionate about and I am so excited to share this passion with these students, which will hopefully inspire some of them to follow in my footsteps.”
This project and event involves immense preparation and planning, which would not be possible without the support of Cork Education and Training Board, The National Space Centre, Blackrock Castle Observatory, Dunsink Observatory, Armagh Observatory and of course, ARISS. Niall Smith, CIT Head of Research and Head of Blackrock Castle Observatory commented on this fantastic Irish project “Blackrock Castle Observatory is delighted to be involved in the school’s link to the International Space Station during Space Week and to explain the science that makes space missions such as this possible. Science is constantly challenging the bounds of possibility and exciting events such as speaking with an astronaut in orbit around Earth offer invaluable insights to students about space exploration, as well as inspiring students about the many exciting opportunities brought by studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.”
To check in with the students in our capital city see FacebookTallaght-Community-School or Twitter @TCSTallaght.
About ARISS
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crewmembers aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or informal education venues. In Ireland the Irish Radio Transmitters Society (IRTS) represent Irish Amateur Radio Operators. ARISS Europe volunteers work with the European Space Agency & international partners to plan live events between astronauts & school children. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss-eu.org, www.irts.ie
Exact time of the event will be published on:
http://www.tog.ie
