Tulsa, OK - Local residents are invited to watch ten students in third through twelfth grade talk directly to American Commander Leroy Chiao KE5BRW and Russian Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov. Both are in space aboard the International Space Station, 250 miles above the earth and circling every 90 minutes.

On Wednesday, December 22 from 9:12 - 9:22 AM CDT, students from Tulsa, Broken Arrow and Austin, Texas talked directly to these astronauts via amateur radio from the Tulsa Air and Space Museum. The students who were selected to ask questions attended the Tulsa Air and Space Museum's summer aerospace camps.

With the help of Amateur Radio Clubs and ham radio operators, these youth joined students from nineteen other countries in 156 completed space link-ups to ask questions of the Expedition 10 astronauts for a first hand learning experience involving science and technology. The goal was to stimulate their imaginations as to the possibilities of space exploration and scientific discovery.

The radio link is sponsored by an international program known as ARISS, Amateur Radio on the International Space Station. As one might imagine there are many partners who make it possible to link a child in Tulsa to an astronaut in space, the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) take care of the space to earth transmissions.

For the local connection, the Tulsa Air and Space Museum worked in cooperation with members of the Tulsa Repeater Organization (TRO), and AMSAT to arrange this contact between students at the museum and the Space Station via amateur radio. Bill Griffin N5IX with TRO of Tulsa and Keith Pugh W5IU with AMSAT of Fort Worth, TX of is responsible for the actual installation of the required equipment at the Museum. Kim Jones, the Museum Curator, and Mark Conklin N7XYO, TRO President and ARRL-Oklahoma Public Information Coordinator, helped launch this project a reality for over two and a half years.

Since many teachers will be out on break for the holiday, Katheryn Pennington, TASM Executive Director, says she hopes to see some extra visitors at the radio link.

According to Pennington, "Statistics prove learning and retaining knowledge improves for children when they are personally involved. The questions the children ask and the answers they receive not only have the ability to broaden their horizons but also impact those who observe the link. With this knowledge, teachers and parents can further assist children in their understanding of the relationship of life on earth and how it relates to life in space, expanding this experience by relating it to science, geography, history, and physics."

Participating students include: Lawrence Ross, William Bloomfield, Chelsie Downie, Chase Karnstadt, Ryan Darrow, Kyler Swearingen, Lauren Olten, Wyatt Bonicelli, and Robert Nolan.

The Tulsa Air and Space Museum is a nonprofit 501(c)(3)organization. Visit the website at www.TulsaAirAndSpaceMuseum.com .

For more info about Tulsa Amateur Radio see www.TulsaHamRadio.org

Students will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: