Eighth graders from Dr. Ronald E. McNair School of Digital Communication and Leadership (DREM) were one of four schools chosen to participate in the Operation Space Talk SC 2024 event.
The students competed in various challenges for an opportunity to speak with a crewmember of the International Space Station (ISS) via amateur radio.
In preparation for the event, students worked with Dorrell Benjamin, Erica Speller and Fred Wilson, a former NASA employee, to learn about radio communication, rovers and space through hands-on experiences. Students built rovers, conducted experiments, and tested their designs against their peers.
They traveled to The Citadel to compete against other schools in drone flying, rover maneuvering and decoding information. During this event, DREM came in first place in both rover challenges.
On Monday, December 2, the culminating event was the live contact with Astronaut Nick Hague who is on board the International Space Station. He answered questions about his daily life aboard the space station, discussed his current mission, and provided advice for aspiring astronauts. This historical event was live streamed by SCETV. The broadcast can be found at https://youtu.be/REraXXw0QFE?si=XZR8ZN9hPiA_MnpW.
