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March 26, 2012

Contact: Amy Hewes
805-756-6402; ahewes@calpoly.edu

MEDIA ADVISORY - Cal Poly Students to Talk to
International Space Station on March 27

To: News Editors, Assignment Editors, Photo Editors and Reporters

What: Cal Poly Amateur Radio Club connects with International Space Station

When: March 27, 1:10 to 1:25 p.m.
Additional events, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Where: Cal Poly’s Advanced Technology Laboratories’ Keck Lab (Building 7, Room 2).

Why: The Cal Poly Electrical Engineering Department and Amateur Radio Club are hosting a direct radio contact with Astronaut Daniel Burbank aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Students will get the chance to learn more about life in space and share Engineering Club projects with Burbank.

Schedule of Events:
11:30 a.m. to  12:30 p.m. Guest Speaker Presentation
12:30 - 1:10 p.m. Club Expo and Contact Preparation
1:10 - 1:25 p.m. International Space Station Radio Contact
1:30 - 2:30 p.m. Engineering Club Expo and Radio Demonstrations

Additional info:
The ISS orbits Earth at an altitude of approximately 300 km every 90 minutes, with a window of about 10 minutes for connection with any ground station.

The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program is designed to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics activities to students in their kindergarten-to-college years.

For its first time participating in ARISS, Cal Poly will be using Telebridge, a phone connection from Cal Poly to a ground station in Hawaii. The ground station, equipped with directional yagi antennas, will communicate wirelessly over amateur radio frequencies to the ISS using a voice uplink and downlink channel.

For more information, go to www.w6bhz.org.

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