Amateur Radio, ISS and STEM

March 13, 2022 Colin Butler

In an unforgettable demonstration of STEM education in action, students at Tarwater Elementary School in Arizona used ham radio equipment to communicate directly with the International Space Station

I began my undergraduate studies with no knowledge of amateur radio. I grew up in the digital age when dissecting electronic devices produced little more than uninspiring green boards populated by anonymous black rectangles, and when circuit tinkering involved microcontrollers and CAD software (EAGLE, of course). Today, prospective EEs are even more likely to begin their journey with software and processor platforms instead of a radio kit. However, after a recent conversation with two engineers from NXP’s facility in Chandler, Arizona, I have a renewed appreciation for the things that you cannot do with an MCU evaluation board. For example: establishing a real-time voice link with someone who lives 250 miles above the Earth and is careening through space at 17,500 miles per hour.

Robert Keim

NXP’s collaboration with Tarwater Elementary was supported by ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station). This multinational organization facilitates educational projects that introduce students (and adults) to wireless technology in general and ham radio in particular. It is difficult to imagine a more effective way to convince young folks that “old-fashioned” RF techniques are still useful and interesting. A thousand-dollar iPhone can do many things, but it can’t call an astronaut on the ISS.

More Information - https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/news/with-help-from-nxp-engineers-young-students-chat-with-iss-astronauts/