Space Station Contact
On Thursday, April 21, 2022 at 1:13 pm, students from Bellefontaine City Schools spoke with astronaut Kayla Barron (KI5LAL) on the International Space Station (ISS) by amateur radio. Nine students from Bellefontaine Elementary School, Intermediate School, and Middle School asked questions about space.
Kayla Barron is a part of the 2017 Astronaut Class. She has a master’s degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Cambridge and served as a submarine warfare officer prior to joining NASA. She was part of the NASA SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station, which launched on November 10, 2021. She has done 2 spacewalks as part of this mission. She is part of the Artemis Team, which is tasked with sending the first woman and the next man to walk on the moon in 2024.
The direct radio link was between the Bellefontaine High School Amateur Radio Club (W8BCS) and Kayla Barron using the ISS call NA1SS. Members of the Champaign Logan Amateur Radio Club (W8FTV) provided equipment and worked with students to set up the antennas and radios to make this contact possible. The contact lasted about 10 minutes as the ISS passed overhead.
Space/Radio Educational Resources
In the Press
Alumni Working in the Space Industry
