Oak Ridge Today

For members: RMS satellite scheduled to launch in September

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Peter Thornton, a researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, holds the cube satellite, or CubeSat, that will be completely built soon and was developed by Robertsville Middle School students with help from teachers and mentors. Named RamSat, the cube satellite is scheduled to launch from Virginia on a space station resupply mission on Sept. 7, 2020. Thornton is pictured above during a mentors meeting at RMS on Thursday, May 28. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The small cube satellite built by Robertsville Middle School students with help from teachers, mentors, and NASA is scheduled to launch on a resupply rocket to the International Space Station in September, and it could be deployed into orbit a few hundred miles above Earth in October.

Testing of the satellite and its components, including a battery test and vibration tests, was scheduled to start this week. A battery test was scheduled to start at Global Testing Laboratories in Knoxville on Tuesday this week and continue Wednesday.

Experience world cultures at Children’s Museum International Festival

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Folk dancers representing many cultures around the world will be among entertainers at the International Festival on Saturday, February 29, at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.

The family-friendly International Festival will present entertainment, crafts, and cuisines from many countries, with musical and dance entertainment on stage throughout the day and crafts for children to make and take home. The festival entertainment will be from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Februar 29 at the Children’s Museum at 461 West Outer Drive in Oak Ridge.

Entertainers include the Oak Ridge International Folk Dancers; Spice of India Dancers; Kinetics Wellness Studio, with instructor Katrien Sevrin and students presenting contemporary Egyptian dance; Pasión Flamenca, performing flamenco and Spanish folk dances; the Meriaki Greek Dancers from St. George Greek Orthodox Church; the Tennessee Irish Dancers; Debka and the Oasis Dancers; National Martial Arts, demonstrating martial arts with audience participation; and the Asian Culture Center of Tennessee, along with the University of Tennessee Japanese Program. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge ‘Hams’ show children fun of amateur radio at Children’s Museum

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Lucas Henderson, 9, of Corryton, taps his name in Morse code as his brother, Brody, 7, at right, awaits his turn. Amateur radio operator Jim Bogard helps them learn to tap the code. (Submitted photo)

Lucas Henderson, 9, of Corryton, taps his name in Morse code as his brother, Brody, 7, at right, awaits his turn. Amateur radio operator Jim Bogard helps them learn to tap the code. (Submitted photo)

 

Children and teens from ages 6 to 16 tried their hand at Morse code recently with ham radio operators at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, learning to communicate on amateur radio as they also participated in celebrating the 100th birthday of the country’s national parks.

Jim and Ronnie Bogard, both amateur radio operators with FCC licenses, welcomed children on a recent Sunday to the museum’s Discovery Lab, where they had set up portable radio equipment and a mobile antenna. Jim Womack (KC4RD) also set up an amateur radio station in the museum’s Living Light Solar House.

“We focus on Morse code, teaching the children to key, so they can send messages. It is like a secret language to kids,” said Jim Bogard (KY4L). “Kids will hear two-way Morse code contacts from all over the U.S. and can have fun sending their names in Morse code. There are also opportunities to talk on the microphone with other amateur radio stations.”

Amateur radio operators will be at the Children’s Museum’s Discovery Lab from 1-4 p.m. each third Sunday of the month. [Read more…]

Amateur Radio Club demonstrates World War II-era military radio at Secret City Festival

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Sterling Edmunds of the Roane County Amateur Radio Club explains historical communication to visitors during the Secret City Festival. In the background are working, restored military “morale” radios and receivers from WWII and the Cold War. (Submitted photo)

Sterling Edmunds of the Roane County Amateur Radio Club explains historical communication to visitors during the Secret City Festival. In the background are working, restored military “morale” radios and receivers from World War II and the Cold War. (Submitted photo)

 

By Kathryn King

The Oak Ridge Amateur Radio Club demonstrated World War II-era military radio communications Friday and Saturday as part of the Secret City Festival. The group also hosted communications as part of the National Parks on the Air Program, celebrating the centennial of the National Park Service and the newly established Manhattan Project National Historical Park. A special event radio call sign, N4M, was issued for this event. The concurrence of these three events represented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for local amateur radio operators.

Approximately 200 people visited the exhibit, which, along with live, on-the-air radio operations, also featured replays of historic broadcasts, such as news programs from World War II, including the announcement of the existence of Oak Ridge and the Manhattan Project. [Read more…]