Catholic school students jump at chance to talk to astronaut in space

BY Joseph Kenny |

Sophie Gloriod, a seventh-grader at Little Flower School in Richmond Heights, certainly could be called a space cadet.

Listening to every word that was spoken via ham radio from some 240 miles above the earth, Sophie was no daydreamer but instead fit the other definition of the phrase — an enthusiast for space travel, typically a young person.

Sophie was among eight students from four Catholic schools who asked questions of astronaut Kjell Lindgren at Ste. Genevieve du Bois School in Warson Woods Nov. 12 as part of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program. A medical doctor, Lindgren is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. As a flight surgeon, he supported space station training and operations and was selected in 2009 as one of 14 members of the 20th NASA astronaut class. He is assigned to Expedition 44/55 as a flight engineer and has been on the space station since June.

Sophie was excited following the nine-minute conversation with the the astronaut, hooked up with the help of ham radio enthusiasts at Ste. Genevieve Parish and NASA. The questions were intended to help students learn more about life in space, how STEM (Science, Education, Engineering and Math) education has prepared astronauts for their experience and practical tips for students in pursuing a career in space-related fields.

One of Sophie’s questions was whether infections spread at the same rate in space as on earth. She was surprised to learn that, though more study is needed on how germs spread in space, apparently there’s not much of a difference. She also asked how long it took for Lindgren to get used to being in space. “I didn’t realize it would take six weeks,” Sophie said about his answer….. READ MORE

Recent Posts

ARRL Audio News – December 2, 2016 [ PodCast ]

December 03, 2016 No comments

This week in ARRL Audio News: • ARRL Issues an Urgent Last Call to Press for Senate Passage of the Amateur Radio Parity Act • Amateur Radio Volunteers... Read more

ARRL Contest Results Posted

February 11, 2019 No comments

The Preliminary 10 Meter Contest results have posted, as have the preliminary 160 Meter Contest results and the full 10 GHz and Up Contest results. Vi... Read more

Ham Radio REMOTE Testing with W5YI – Get Your License NOW!

May 27, 2020 No comments

Read more

Radio Amateur Finds Another “Zombie Satellite”

April 27, 2020 No comments

British Columbia radio amateur Scott Tilley, VE7TIL, has found another “zombie satellite,” as he calls them. This time, he tracked and identified radi... Read more

ARISS to Conduct Digital Amateur Radio TV Transmitter Test on June 1

June 01, 2018 No comments

ARISS will conduct a test of the “Ham Video” digital Amateur Radio television transmitter on the Columbus of the International Space Station on Friday... Read more

Micom 3F – 1.8 to 30MHz

February 02, 2016 No comments

The Micom-3F is a desktop, front panel, HF-SSB, DSP controlled radio, with embedded ALE. ALE JITC certified. It is fully compliant with FED-STD 1045 a... Read more

Amateur 47 GHz Allocation Avoids 5G Juggernaut in the US for Now, Worldwide Defense Continues

July 20, 2016 No comments

There’s good news regarding the future of Amateur Radio’s primary allocation at 47 GHz in the US. Still a test bed for point-to-point propagation expe... Read more

PicoAPRS Transceiver

March 10, 2020 No comments

“Worlds smallest APRS transceiver with TNC” offers many applications. Matchbox-sized, built-in GPS receiver. The transceiver can not only... Read more

FlexRadio Systems: The Accidental Company

January 25, 2016 No comments

Gerald Youngblood K5SDR, President and Founder of FlexRadio Systems of Austin TX, visited Central Mississippi Amateur Radio Association (cmsara.org) o... Read more

RFinder Android Radio First Test !

November 16, 2016 No comments

RFinder – The World Wide Repeater Directory is a database of Amateur Radio repeaters worldwide. We have 60.000 repeaters in 170+ countries. We h... Read more