TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — We may not always be able to see what’s happening above the clouds but that doesn’t mean that we can’t hear what’s happening.
The amateur radio club in Terre Haute practiced communicating with the International Space Station as it passed by the Wabash Valley.
This is in preparation for a big event that will be hosted by Terre Haute Children’s Museum in October.
“We only have 10 minutes from the beginning to the end. We’ll talk to one astronaut, and it’ll work. Will have somebody helping the children get up to ask the question. and then move on,” said Susan Turner, Executive Director of Terre Haute Children’s Museum.
They will make live contact with the International Space Station. There will be only a short time frame for children to ask an astronaut questions, so the radio operators practiced today to make sure it’s perfect in the future.
“I feel amateur radio is important for the same reason NASA has amateur radios on everything in space,” said Todd Emmert, VP of the Wabash Valley Amateur Radio. “It is back up communications and our communication doesn’t need a network to work on. We are our own network.”
In tonight’s practice run they made contact with the I-S-S and it connected with another radio transmitter in Missouri. They have also had conversations with people in Cuba and Wisconsin in other practice runs.
There is not a specific date set for the event where children of Vigo County will ask a range of questions to a NASA astronaut. This is due to NASA not being able to pinpoint the exact time when they will be able to connect the radios to the International Space Station, yet. They should know the exact time about a week ahead.
