November 10, 2008
Episode XVIII: An interview (AKA: I'm starting to forget my Roman numerals. Is XVIII right?)
This evening, I had the privilege of being interviewed by Cindy Pom, a reporter from The Varsity, which is the school paper of the University of Toronto. She's going to be writing up a story for their paper. My friends, I would like to share that interview with you!
CP: So, you mentioned that what makes this project unique is that you're only 4 college students. How proud are you of this accomplishment?
PN: Quite proud, really. Only a year ago, it seemed like an almost impossible feat. It’s really an amazing feeling.
CP: Why did it seem impossible a year ago? A year ago, did you guys think you didn't have what it took to build something this successful?
PN: When we first brought the idea for this project to our professor, Mark Rector, he thought we were in way over our heads. We were only a year into school, and we didn't really have an in-depth knowledge of what we were doing. At that point in our schooling, to say we're going to build two radio stations to contact space... it just felt almost impossible. That just encouraged us to do our own research, though, and to learn everything on our own. In a way, the psychological battle was, and in some ways still is, one of the hardest things we've had to overcome.
CP: Interesting. Just to be clear, you're building two radio stations for NASA but so far, you've built one?
PN: That's correct. Basically, we'll have a primary station and a backup station. Should something go wrong with the primary station, we'll be able to flip a switch and turn on the backup station.
CP: So you've built the primary station so far? (and the backup is still to come)?
PN: That's correct, yes. We’ve built our primary station, and we've done most of the testing for it. We’ve got maybe another week of testing to do on our primary station. Once we're confident that it will work, we can start to build our backup station.
CP: You haven't made contact with NASA yet, right? So, how do you know that it'll work (that you'll be able to make contact)?
PN: There is an organization called ARISS, which acts as a middle-man between us and NASA. Basically, ARISS (which stands for Amateur Radio on the International Space Station), is an international organization which acts on NASA’s behalf. When a radio club wants to set up an official contact with the space station, they would submit their application to ARISS, which forwards it on to NASA. We got our approval from ARISS back in the beginning of September.
CP: Oh, I see. So, when ARISS approves your proposal, that means that NASA has okay-ed you making contact with them?
PN: That's correct, yes. Basically, there are a couple of components to the application. The first, and most important, is the equipment. As I mentioned earlier, they have guidelines for all the equipment. Second, we had to write up an educational proposal explaining how we, as students, would benefit from making contact with the space station. The third part was explaining how we were going to publicize this event. At first, we thought we were only going to be advertising this just in the school itself. But, this has taken on a life of its own.
CP: Okay. Just to clarify - the radio you built is: a simple-looking antenna with a complex communications device.
PN: The antenna itself looks simple, but there's a lot of science behind how it's designed.
CP: How did the word get out? Looking back a year from now, could you have possibly believed this would have happened?
PN: If you told me that this story would be in newspapers from Hong Kong to Newfoundland and everywhere between, I would have told you that you were crazy. As for word getting out about this, it all started in the school. As a group, we've put on several presentations about the project for the school's faculty, administration, and students. Our latest presentation was with a gentleman named Clint Thomas from the Canadian Press. He wrote up a nice story about us last Tuesday, and by Saturday morning, it was all over the news.
CP: Ah yes, I read it. It was great.
PN: Thank you.
CP: How do you think Humber has contributed to the success of your project? What will you get out of your education there?
PN: First of all, I feel that we're receiving a really solid education at Humber. The professors really know their stuff, and they're willing to do whatever it takes to make sure you have a complete understanding of whatever they're teaching. As far as Humber's contribution, the school has been so supportive. John Davies, the president of our school, attended one of our presentations, and he was so impressed, that he offered to help us out financially. As we were building everything, if we had a question, we knew that there was always someone around who could help us out. I can't speak highly enough about our school.
CP: Now, I've heard that only a limited number of students have been able to build this radio station. And the majority of them have been engineering students at university. The fact that four college students have accomplished the same project -- do you think this "does away" with the notion that college educations are not on the same par as university ones?
PN: I suppose it's all about how you apply yourself. No matter what kind of education you have, it's all about having a goal, and learning what you need to in order to accomplish it. I don't feel that a university education is any better than a college education. It’s all on how you decide to use it.
CP: The Canadian Press article said you were waiting for an official plan from NASA --I would like to clarify what this means: does it mean you are awaiting a date to make contact with them?
PN: Absolutely. Basically, through ARISS, NASA has given us our approval. They’ve said that we've met their criteria, and that we will have a date for sure. at this point, we're just waiting for a date when they can squeeze us in. they have to make up the flight plan, which will say, "do a space walk, talk to Humber College, and fix the Hubble telescope." Or something to that effect.
CP: When are you hoping the date will be?
PN: Our last day of class is May 1, so we're hoping sometime before that. Anytime between mid-January and April would be ideal.
CP: It would be nice before you graduate, right?
PN: For sure. But, if it means coming back to Humber in the middle of summer, I think we're willing to do that.
CP: Now, when you make contact, is there a time limit?
PN: We're going to have a window of about 10 minutes.
CP: Is that a NASA stipulation, or is that for technological reasons?
PN: The space station is travelling at 27,000 km/h. From the time it comes over the horizon until the time it disappears over the opposite horizon is about ten minutes. After that, it'll be out of our range.
CP: So, the international space station is moving at the speed above, and in order to make contact with you, it has to be in range (which means over the horizon, from one end to the other)?
PN: Exactly. When it's at its closest point to us, it'll be about 440 km away. When you take the speed into account, plus the fact that it's only the size of a football field, it's very difficult to keep track of after it goes out of range.
CP: So, what are your plans after Humber? Venturing into space?
PN: I wish!
CP: Would you consider it?
PN: if the chance came up, I’d love it. For now, though, I plan on getting into either radio or television broadcasting. I’ve always had a bit of a fascination with radio, so it will be nice to get into it for a living.
CP: Well, you've just built one!
PN: Exactly! What better way to get into radio than to build a station?
CP: But space radio stations are different from radio stations, right?
PN: It's the same principles, really. They’re just implemented differently.
CP: Do they run on different wave lengths? (Ok, I'm not really sure what I'm talking about, but they both run on radio waves, right? so it must be a difference of construction...) We don't really need to get into this, it just peaks my curiosity!
PN: No problem. It’s all about radio waves, once you get into it. Different frequencies are used for different things, and different frequencies need different equipment. Then you get into things like power, modulation schemes... its great fun!
CP: Oh, one more thing! In that 10 minute period, is it true that you are going to get a Humber student to ask the astronauts a question?
PN: Starting in January, we're going to open up a contest to Humber students. Basically, they'll be able to go to my website and submit a question for the astronauts. As a group, we're going to pick the best question. Whoever wins will get the chance to ask the question themselves. It’s a pretty exciting contest, I think. A lot of people are looking forward to it!
CP: Oh definitely! On the top of my list is...how do you become an astronaut?
PN: Sorry, Humber students only!