Live video link with ISS
Sevenoaks School successfully hosted a live satellite video link with the orbiting International Space Station (ISS) on 20 January 2011 during a presentation by Dr Nicholas Patrick, a NASA representative and mission specialist.
Sevenoaks is the first UK school to have attempted a live video and audio link with a space vehicle of any sort. Other schools in the UK have spoken to ISS astronauts via radio links.
Video supplied by Times Online
Pupils from Year 7 to the Lower Sixth had won a competition to put their questions to the current crew of the laboratory. Around 400 pupils and staff watched as the astronauts, led by Captain Scott Kelly, sat facing the video camera 238 miles above us. Bobbing up and down, they answered the questions, which ranged from queries about the harmful effects of radiation to how they use the toilet in space. For 17 minutes, we glimpsed a world that was at once so similar and different from where we live, before the crew, turning somersaults, signed out with, ‘Have a great day there at Sevenoaks.’
Before and after the live link, Dr Patrick gave a fascinating presentation about his experiences as an astronaut. A graduate of Cambridge and MIT whose experience includes over 638 space hours, he made life in space and the training come alive. We learned interesting things from logistical issues with dropping things – they float noiselessly away, never to be found again – to simple facts – they carry tortillas, not bread, and all astronauts run on Greenwich Mean Time (though not British Summer Time).
Dr Patrick also described how, in their small amounts of free time, those on the ISS enjoyed the amazing experience of looking out of the window at the Earth. Contrary to popular opinion, you can’t see the Great Wall of China from space, but you can see the launch pad. You can also see the atmosphere, which compared to the bulk of the Earth is ‘tiny’ – it strikes Dr Patrick how much we need to protect our planet.
The ISS travels 230 miles above the earth and at 17,500 mph, circumnavigates the globe over a dozen times a day. Since the first astronaut took residence on 2 November 2000, over 200 explorers have visited the orbiting complex, 15 countries have contributed support and more than 600 experiments have been conducted.
For those considering a career like Dr Patrick’s, he explained that the vast majority of astronauts are Engineering graduates (Physics comes in second place), although a not insubstantial proportion studied Biology or Economics at university. In his view, it’s ‘never too late’ – though if you’re claustrophobic, going up in a space shuttle is perhaps not for you. Qualities of a good astronaut include technical expertise, reliability, leadership skills and perseverance. Given the nature of the workplace, you also need to be forgiving and ‘good to work with’!
Pupils commented that it was ‘an experience most students don’t even get a change to dream of… absolutely phenomenal’ and ‘It was surreal, inspiring, fantastic, weird… everyone present was enthralled.’ Those who put questions to the ISS crew acknowledged that they were extremely lucky to have had such an opportunity.
Dr Patrick said, ‘This was the first time in my 12 years as an astronaut that I’ve been able to witness a live link during one of my presentations.’ He added that it had been fun and ‘a treat’ to see the crew members he had worked with in Houston.
The presentation was the keynote lecture of Sevenoaks School’s Science Week: six days of activities aimed at advancing public understanding, accessibility and accountability of Science and Engineering in the UK. Thanks go to Graeme Lawrie, Sevenoaks School’s Head of Science and Technology, who has spent the last eight months organising the live link, Dr Nicholas Patrick, Mr Oleg Volkov and Captain Scott Kelly.
Sevenoaks School’s annual Science Week is open to pupils from local schools aged four to 18, as well as their staff and parents. All events are free, with funding provided by various businesses and charities.
Blue Peter
After Science Week, Sevenoaks School provided BBC’s Blue Peter with video footage of the mission commander of the ISS answering questions. These had been submitted by children from across the UK and were answered in Russian, so Sevenoaks also found a translator for the programme. The episode was broadcast on 12 April 2011. Graeme Lawrie, Head of Science & Technology, and Anton Volkov (Year 10) attended a live shoot for the programme in the Blue Peter garden on 9 May.