Council Rock South High School has Out of this World Contact with International Space Station

Bob Wilson, W3BIG

A 30-student team from the Council Rock Amateur Radio Club (KC3JND) at Council Rock South High School in Holland, Bucks County made a 10-minute contact with NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen-KI5BKB on the orbiting International Space Station as it passed over eastern Pennsylvania on May 1 at 0843 EDT.

The team, comprised of marketing, engineering and systems integration student specialists, has worked on the ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) project for more than a year. Though the high school club has had other notable accomplishments, the ARISS project is always the highlight of the year.

Faculty advisor Jerry Fetter-K3OHI along with Joseph Warwick-KB3ZED, both science teachers, have worked tirelessly with students preparing for the contact. They were assisted with technical expertise by skilled radio operators from both the Frankford ARC and Warminster ARC including Bill Ballantine-K3FMQ, Irwin Darack-KD3TB, Joe Horanzy-AA3JH, Michael Shanblatt-W3MAS and Andy Vavra-KD3RF, who served as the overall manager for this project as well as all three of the Council Rock School District’s previous ARISS contacts over the past seven years, coordinating work sessions and keeping a very complex project on task for a deadline that couldn’t be moved. 

The ARISS project was presented in the high school auditorium with an audience of interested students and visitors watching the preparation and actual QSO. At precisely 0843 EDT, contact with the ISS was established on the 2-meter band. The speaker in the main transceiver, an Icom IC-9700, a specialized VHF/UHF rig designed for weak signal operation, crackled to life with the voice of astronaut Stephen Bowen answering the Council Rock Amateur Radio Club KC3JND call. Just making contact would be thrilling enough, but the students asked a lengthy series of questions, this being an educational endeavor. KI5BKB answered all of the questions patiently during the remarkable contact which lasted a full 10 minutes from AOS (Acquisition of Signal) to LOS (Loss of Signal) at 0853 EDT. Most contacts with the ISS last about 6 or 7 minutes, so this QSO was robust with excellent signal quality.

The antenna system, a roof-mounted 2m/70cm Yagi array, tracked the ISS via computer as it passed from horizon to horizon at a speed in excess of 17,000 mph. An airborne drone, operated by Joseph Warwick-KB3ZED, fed video of the antenna system as it tracked, projected for all to see on a large screen in the auditorium.

Besides the obvious educational benefits of the ARISS program, the project has been very successful in encouraging a number of students to earn their FCC licenses. Their fascination with and enthusiasm for amateur radio is critical for our hobby in attracting a younger generation of hams to join our community.

The next project for Council Rock Amateur Radio Club will be participation in Field Day 2023, to be held at the high school in June. Listen for their callsign-KC3JND on the air during the event.