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>> Kelly Humphries: We have
a special guest here with us

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in Mission Control today.

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Visiting in association with
AMSAT and the ARISS Experiment,

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the amateur radio experiment
aboard the International

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Space Station.

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We have Frank Bauer who
is the Vice President

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for Space Flight
Programs at AMSAT.

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Welcome Frank.

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>> Frank Bauer: Thank you.

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>> Kelly: It's good
to have you here.

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You are no stranger to NASA or
Mission Control but you're here

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for a special reason this week

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and that is you've got a large
group of folks here in Houston.

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Tell us a little bit
about why you're here.

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>> Frank: Yeah we have about a
hundred and thirty people here

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from AMSAT the Radio
Armature Satellite Corporation

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and we're here for a space
symposium all weekend starting

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actually on Friday and what
we are doing is discussing our

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amateur radio satellites
and AIRUSS

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and improving our
operations and one

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of the major satellites
we're working

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on is a cube set called
Fox so we've got a lot

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of different space craft that
we've built over the years,

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way over seventy
satellites at this point,

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starting in 1961 the very
first satellite called Oscar 1.

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>> Kelly: Oscar 1 and then as
we mentioned you're no stranger

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to NASA, you worked at
Goddard Space Flight Center

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and elsewhere.

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Tell us a little bit about
your history with the agency.

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>> Frank: Yeah I started in the
mid-seventies working for NASA

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at Goddard and actually
my career was down here

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for a couple of years
on Constellation

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and then ultimately NASA
Headquarters folks asked me

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to come up and be the Chief
Engineer for Exploration

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so I was doing that
for four years

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and retired about two years ago.

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>> Kelly: Ok and retirement
you're staying obviously working

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with this group.

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We've got about a hundred

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and thirty people I think
visiting Johnson Space Center

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here from your symposium.

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It's great to have them
here in the viewing room.

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So tell us a little
bit this is all

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about the International
Space Station today

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so give us a little bit of
history and tell us a little bit

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about AIRUSS and its
value to both the folks

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on the Space Station and
to folks here on the ground

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>> Frank: and one of the things
we were celebrating this weekend

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is that this is the thirtieth
anniversary of amateur radio

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on human space flight vehicles.

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And so we have a panel
session with Owen Garriott

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and Bill McArthur and
others to talk about that.

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Owen being an STS-9 being
the very first amateur radio

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operator to actually talk to
anyone you know on the ground,

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Ham radio operators
and then ultimately

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in 1996 we started the
ARISS program amateur radio

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on the International
Space Station

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and that program has been going
very well on Space Station.

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We turned down the radio system
two weeks after Bill McArthur

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and Sergei Krikalev got into
the module on Space Station

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and we've been operating

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since on all thirty seven
expeditions at this point.

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>> Kelly: And about how
many contacts do you have

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in a given period with the
Space Station amateur Radio?

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>> Frank: Well, we're doing
about a hundred a year you know

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about two a week,
actually we had two today

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that were very successful,
Cradle of Aviation museum

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up in New York and another
school in New Jersey.

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And so we have about two a week,
it depends on orbit dynamics

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and things like that but
so it keeps us pretty busy.

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The interesting thing about our
program is it's all volunteer

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so you know we're touching

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about fifteen thousand students
directly a year in the program

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and then also you know
millions see the contact

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between the space shuttle
astronauts and the students.

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We give them about a you
know orbit dynamics mean

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that we can give them about
a ten minute opportunity to Q

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and A the astronauts on all
kinds of different questions

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and it works out really
well and it's inspiring,

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it's a once in a lifetime
opportunity for the students,

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for the families, for
the whole community,

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the whole community gets
behind this thing and millions,

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like I said, millions
experience it a year

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as part of that activity.

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>> Kelly: I actually had
the pleasure of being at one

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of those contacts in Northern
California a couple of years ago

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and it really is quite the set

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up because your volunteers
come in,

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they set up the antennas
outside the school,

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the teachers organize a couple
of three hundred students

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to come in the auditorium, they
have a large group and a program

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about the space station and
discuss the orbital mechanics

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that are allowing it to
come within radio range

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for the ARISS experiment
and then they do a countdown

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to the contact and then they get
a chance to actually speak live

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with the astronauts
on the space station.

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I saw the grins on the faces
of the kids that got to talk

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and they have some pretty
interesting questions too.

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>> Frank: Yes exactly.

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It's all about education.

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It's to get students interested
in stem career, science,

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technology, engineering,

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math and you know we go
beyond just inspire you know

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into engaging the students

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and educating the students
ultimately, that's our goals

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and objectives of the program
and it's of course you know

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from our perspective there's
three main organizations

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in the United States involved,

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NASA of course very intimately
involved, the AMSAT folks

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and the American
Radio Relay League.

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And then I have a whole
team around the world

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that are supporting this

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from the various space
agency organizations.

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We have HAM radio groups you
know in Europe and in Russia,

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and Japan, Canada,
they're all involved.

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When Chris Hatfield flew there
was a huge activity there

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if you watched all of the school
contacts that were being done.

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Up and down you know the whole
Canadian province if you will.

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>> Kelly: Alright, well, so
totally a global initiative

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and a great inspiration
opportunity for students

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on the ground and I know the
astronauts enjoy participating

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and talking with them, it
gives them a little relief

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from their day to day
activities as well.

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>> Frank: Exactly.

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>> Kelly: Frank Bauer thank
you very much for coming in

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and talking to us about amateur
radio on the space station

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and other vehicles
and I wish you and all

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of your guests here
a great day today.

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>> Frank: Ok thank
you very much Kelly.