Yuri and Thomas and Sergey. Before embarking on the ham radio enterprise I had applied for and received a Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment radio contact, part of a program that NASA set up to encourage student interest in technology and aerospace. NASA astronaut Jay Apt N5QWL, a veteran of four shuttle missions and an avid ham radio operator, talked to the students during his STS-79 mission. In the allotted 10 minutes, the students asked more than 20 questions. One of the new highlights of our Amateur Radio program is Slow-Scan television, which permits operators to receive and transmit color pictures.
Students particularly enjoy their contacts with a Mexican missionary who is a ham radio operator.
He shares his pictures and knowledge of Mexico's people and land, and the students in turn transmit pictures of our classroom projects and themselves. It's hard to believe that we began this enterprise with a box of spare electronic parts and one electrical outlet. We've shown that school technology does not have to be excessively expensive. The local ham radio community has continued to offer support, providing the expertise to keep the antenna system and radio equipment operating well. We also continue to receive considerable newspaper and television coverage.