Hello there, my dear readers. The holidays are in full swing, and there's no shortage of snow on the ground. It's truly a magical time.
My friends, I have a pretty big announcement for you. I just got the news, myself, and I can't wait to share it.
Over the last year and a half, we have dedicated a good portion of our lives to Operation: First Contact. Reading back in this blog can give you an idea of the amount of work we've put into this project. It hasn't always been an easy road that we've travelled, but it sure was rewarding.
All our hard work... everything we've worked so hard for... it's all about to pay off.
I just got the email confirming that we have a window for our contact! Clear your calendars, because sometime between February 2 and February 9 we are going to make history!
As a group, we're going to take a little time to collect ourselves over the holidays. When we get back, though, we are going to push harder than we ever have in preparation for the big day.
As you know, on the day of contact we will be asking questions to the astronauts on the International Space Station. We figured that it would be selfish of us to ask all the questions without involving the school. I'm sure that there's a lot of you out there who would love the chance to ask your own questions. This January, we are going to be hosting a contest. In a nutshell, students from Humber College will be able to submit questions to us. Whoever has the best question will be able to ask the questions themselves when we make contact. Imagine being able to say you talked to someone in space!
Check back here in the new year, and we'll have everything ready to go! In the meantime, I hope that everyone has an amazing holiday season, and a most awesome new year!
Monday, December 22, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Episode XIX: Random Happenings
Hey there, everyone. I must apologize for the lack up updates around here lately. I got into a bit of a funk where I got nothing done, I almost destroyed my computer, went into another funk, and now I'm being bombarded by exams! I'll write something a little more substantial as soon as things let up for now. For now, though, here's what's been going on lately.
The last few weeks have been pretty kind for Operation: First Contact. We've completed construction of our primary station, and we're performing all our testing to make sure that everything is behaving the way its expected to.
We pointed our antenna to true north, which is 10 degrees and 45 minutes west of magnetic north. What does that mean? The earth's magnetic poles are constantly moving in an arc-shaped pattern, taking 25,000 years to complete a rotation. This means that magnetic north is constantly changing. True north, on the other hand, is in a fixed position right at the top of the globe. True north is where all the lines of longitude intersect.
One small problem we've fixed is the polarization of our antenna. Last week, we were up on the roof making some adjustments to our antenna in the freezing rain and snow. We noted that our antenna was set up for left-handed circular polarization. After doing a little research, we discovered that we should be set up for right-handed circular polarization.
Also, we're in the process of implementing a new piece of equipment into our communication system, called a TNC (terminal node controller). This magic box will allow us to exchange data packets back and forth with the space station. We're in the testing phases with it, but you should expect to hear more about that in my next update.
We've been in contact with a gentleman named Steve who works for ARISS. From what I've heard, he'll be coming from Ottawa to take a look at our setup sometime in the beginning of January. We're all pretty excited about that. It's nice to have tangible proof of our progress.
If anyone has access to current issues of Humber's newspapers, there's a great article in Humber Etcetera about the space station's new urine recycling system. Also, there's a pretty great article in Radix about our project. I'd like to express my thanks to Kristine Mason and Angelo Elia for writing up some pretty great articles.
I'd also like to send a shout-out to anyone from Carl Oliver's physics class. I'll be talking to them about some stuff tomorrow afternoon. I'm sure a great time will be had by all.
For those of you still in school, good luck on your exams! For everyone else, have a great holiday!
The last few weeks have been pretty kind for Operation: First Contact. We've completed construction of our primary station, and we're performing all our testing to make sure that everything is behaving the way its expected to.
We pointed our antenna to true north, which is 10 degrees and 45 minutes west of magnetic north. What does that mean? The earth's magnetic poles are constantly moving in an arc-shaped pattern, taking 25,000 years to complete a rotation. This means that magnetic north is constantly changing. True north, on the other hand, is in a fixed position right at the top of the globe. True north is where all the lines of longitude intersect.
One small problem we've fixed is the polarization of our antenna. Last week, we were up on the roof making some adjustments to our antenna in the freezing rain and snow. We noted that our antenna was set up for left-handed circular polarization. After doing a little research, we discovered that we should be set up for right-handed circular polarization.
Also, we're in the process of implementing a new piece of equipment into our communication system, called a TNC (terminal node controller). This magic box will allow us to exchange data packets back and forth with the space station. We're in the testing phases with it, but you should expect to hear more about that in my next update.
We've been in contact with a gentleman named Steve who works for ARISS. From what I've heard, he'll be coming from Ottawa to take a look at our setup sometime in the beginning of January. We're all pretty excited about that. It's nice to have tangible proof of our progress.
If anyone has access to current issues of Humber's newspapers, there's a great article in Humber Etcetera about the space station's new urine recycling system. Also, there's a pretty great article in Radix about our project. I'd like to express my thanks to Kristine Mason and Angelo Elia for writing up some pretty great articles.
I'd also like to send a shout-out to anyone from Carl Oliver's physics class. I'll be talking to them about some stuff tomorrow afternoon. I'm sure a great time will be had by all.
For those of you still in school, good luck on your exams! For everyone else, have a great holiday!
Monday, November 10, 2008
Episode XVIII: An interview (AKA: I'm starting to forget my Roman numerals. Is XVIII right?)
Wow... I'm so impressed with the kind of media attention we've been getting lately! Honestly, I'd really like to thank everybody so much for taking such an interest in this project. I can't express in words how much this means to not only myself, but everyone involved with the project.
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!
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!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Episode XVII: Toronto college students design device to contact International Space Station
It looks like we woke up to a surprise on Saturday morning.
Last Tuesday, our group put on a presentation for Mr. Clint Thomas, a reporter for the Canadian Press. Afterwards, we had a short Q&A session up on the roof. He wrote up an amazing article, and put together a great video!
I was at work on Saturday morning when my boss came up to me. He says to me, "I just heard about your project on 680 News in the car on my way here." I thought to myself, "Wow! I can't believe it! This is huge!"
I did a little research after work, and it turns out that our story has been published all across Canada. A quick Google search showed me that this article has been published in newspapers from Lethbridge, Alberta to St. John's, Newfoundland, and a whole bunch of places in between. In addition to local papers, I also found our story up on the Macleans website, the CBC's website, Yahoo.ca, Canoe, and the Sympatico page.
Even now, I just saw a headline on Toronto's CP24 channel about us. Last night, I saw our headline on CTV Newsnet.
To be honest, I feel it's a little mind-blowing. We're just four students from Toronto. We're not doing this project for any sort of fame. We're doing it because we want to do something big and exciting.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who has emailed me little supportive messages. I'd like you to know that as a group, we really appreciate all the support and well-wishing. Thank you all so much!
Last Tuesday, our group put on a presentation for Mr. Clint Thomas, a reporter for the Canadian Press. Afterwards, we had a short Q&A session up on the roof. He wrote up an amazing article, and put together a great video!
I was at work on Saturday morning when my boss came up to me. He says to me, "I just heard about your project on 680 News in the car on my way here." I thought to myself, "Wow! I can't believe it! This is huge!"
I did a little research after work, and it turns out that our story has been published all across Canada. A quick Google search showed me that this article has been published in newspapers from Lethbridge, Alberta to St. John's, Newfoundland, and a whole bunch of places in between. In addition to local papers, I also found our story up on the Macleans website, the CBC's website, Yahoo.ca, Canoe, and the Sympatico page.
Even now, I just saw a headline on Toronto's CP24 channel about us. Last night, I saw our headline on CTV Newsnet.
To be honest, I feel it's a little mind-blowing. We're just four students from Toronto. We're not doing this project for any sort of fame. We're doing it because we want to do something big and exciting.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who has emailed me little supportive messages. I'd like you to know that as a group, we really appreciate all the support and well-wishing. Thank you all so much!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Episode XIV: Getting Closer!
Hello there,
So, I got this fancy new website up and running, and then I got too busy to update it. And by busy, I mean to say that I got my Astro Boy DVD set in the mail and can't stop watching it. I can't help it.
Of course, we've been busy for real lately. There's a whole bunch of new stuff going on. Exciting stuff!
For instance, we soldered the connectors to the control wires for our antenna's rotor. After all that was said and done, we were able to control the movement of our antenna from inside room N214. Here's a few pictures of us working on that.
Today, Mr. Rector, Paul, and I went out to Radioworld and purchased a transceiver. After much research, we decided to go with the ICOM Ic-V8000. For the cost, it has exactly what we need. On Friday, we're going to be integrating it into our setup, and doing all the necessary testing.
I also got an email from Jeff Wimbush from The Humber Daily Planet. He just finished editing a video interview that we did with him, and he has posted the complete story, along with the video. Go read the story! Now!
So, I got this fancy new website up and running, and then I got too busy to update it. And by busy, I mean to say that I got my Astro Boy DVD set in the mail and can't stop watching it. I can't help it.
Of course, we've been busy for real lately. There's a whole bunch of new stuff going on. Exciting stuff!
For instance, we soldered the connectors to the control wires for our antenna's rotor. After all that was said and done, we were able to control the movement of our antenna from inside room N214. Here's a few pictures of us working on that.
Today, Mr. Rector, Paul, and I went out to Radioworld and purchased a transceiver. After much research, we decided to go with the ICOM Ic-V8000. For the cost, it has exactly what we need. On Friday, we're going to be integrating it into our setup, and doing all the necessary testing.
I also got an email from Jeff Wimbush from The Humber Daily Planet. He just finished editing a video interview that we did with him, and he has posted the complete story, along with the video. Go read the story! Now!
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