From space station, NASA astronaut Ed Lu '84 speaks with CU students

Cornell junior Chase Million, front right, and postdoctoral researcher Wulf Hofbauer adjust shortwave radio dials during a conversation with NASA astronaut Ed Lu, Sept. 4, in Barton Hall. Students in the background are waiting their turns to ask Lu questions. Nicola Kountoupes/University Photography

By Blaine P. Friedlander Jr.

Far above Cayuga's waters -- hundreds of miles, in fact -- NASA astronaut and Cornell alumnus Ed Lu reached out Sept. 4 and spoke directly, via shortwave radio, to fellow Cornellians for 11 minutes. Lu was aboard the International Space Station some 240 miles above Earth as it passed over North America. It was the first time Cornell students have spoken to an astronaut in space.

"This is really exciting; this is great and it all worked," said Chase Million, a Cornell junior from Hagerstown, Ind., who is president of the Cornell Amateur Radio Club. A physics major, Million plans on a career in the space industry after he graduates. "Today was more than just a hands-on experience; we actually got to talk to a guy who is on the space station," Million said following the shortwave conversation.

The hookup was part of NASA's Amateur Radio Onboard the International Space Station (ARISS) program.

Lu, who graduated from Cornell in 1984 with a degree in electrical engineering, has been aboard the space station since April and is expected to return to Earth in late October. He is joined on the mission by the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko. Both men have been conducting scientific experiments in the low-gravity environment.

Mike Hammer, director of data management at Cornell's College of Engineering and the radio club's faculty adviser, had been arranging this call since May. Because time was valuable, the students had rehearsed their questions over the previous weekend. Hammer called the space station via a Kenwood shortwave radio with a home-built antenna.

At 9:39 a.m. EDT, the space station was above Manitoba, Canada, rising just slightly above Ithaca's northwestern horizon. The room high atop the Barton Hall tower on campus was hushed, and students closed windows to reduce the noise. "N A 1 S S, W 2 C X M," Hammer called out on the microphone, exchanging call signs. "Good morning, Ed."

Lu replied, "I read you loud and clear." Then Kent Fuchs, dean of Cornell's engineering college, expressed greetings from the university, and he was followed by the lineup of questioners.

Leading off for the students, Million asked Lu about the space station experiments being conducted in microgravity. Lu explained that he conducted experiments from basic physics to applied-medical tests. Lu said that he was working on ways to eliminate the bone loss that astronauts experience. "In fact, we've almost eliminated it," he said.

A few minutes before the space station passed over Ithaca, Curry Taylor, a graduate student in physics, wanted to know if Lu would accept an invitation for a Mars expedition. "Absolutely," replied Lu. "I hope that before my career is over I get a chance to do that."

As the space station was directly over Ithaca, Phani Ramachandran, a graduate student in physics asked: "We saw Mars, the tiny red planet, from Earth. Is the view any better from up there?"

With noticeable excitement in his voice, Lu said, "Mars is quite beautiful from here." And he described seeing the red planet just minutes earlier from the dark side of the Earth. "It's a very neat sight."

By 9:46 a.m., there were four minutes to go before the Earth's curvature would end the rare long-distance call. Carl Franck, Cornell professor of physics, asked Lu what was the "coolest tool" he used on the space station. Lu said it was a screwdriver, two-and-a-half feet long, used to service the toilet aboard the craft. That answer drew laughs from club members.

Finally at 9:50 a.m., as the space station sped across the Atlantic Ocean toward Bermuda, Kevin Feeney, a network engineer with Cornell Information Technologies, wanted to know how computer equipment was maintained in space. Unfortunately, due to the space station's trajectory and the Earth's curvature, contact was lost before Lu could answer. At the crackling sound of static from cosmic ether indicating the end of the session, the Cornell audience burst into applause.

Before his current mission, Lu had flown into space twice, both times on the shuttle Atlantis. He was a mission specialist in 1997 and a mission specialist and payload commander in 2000. As a space shuttle astronaut, he logged about 8.5 million miles and 504 hours, including a walk in space for 6 hours and 14 minutes. Lu graduated from R.L. Thomas High School in Webster, N.Y., in 1980, and at Cornell, he was a Merrill Presidential Scholar and a member of the Big Red wrestling team. He earned his doctoral degree in applied physics from Stanford University in 1989.

The Cornell Amateur Radio Club dates back to 1915. The modern-day club has had the call sign W2CXM since 1951, and it is affiliated with the American Radio Relay League. The club participates in amateur radio competitions for sport and emergency preparedness. These competitions test operating skills and equipment performance. The club also uses its equipment to provide a number of public services. During natural disasters, members have aided in moving messages to and from afflicted areas. The club has also provided "phone patches" for international Cornell students to call their families.