Successful Rockingham Scout Group ARISS Contact

On Saturday the 29th of August, Scouts from Rockingham Scout Group, Western Australia successfully spoke live with NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway, KJ5NIV, aboard the International Space Station during an ARISS school contact.

The contact began right on schedule at 6:56 PM AEST and lasted around 10 minutes, giving students enough time to ask 14 of their 17 questions before the ISS disappeared over the horizon and signal was lost. Fun Fact: The Rockingham Scout Group are growing Wattle Trees from seeds that were previously in the International Space Station for six months!

This contact was made possible through the ARISS Ham Radio Telebridge, with John ZS6fJON in Paardekrall, South Africa providing the radio link. Audio was distributed worldwide via EchoLink, IRLP and linked VoIP networks commented on favourably by all who listened in.

Once again, several Australian repeater systems connected to the event across New South Wales, ACT, QLD, and WA extending the reach and allowing many amateurs to experience an ARISS contact for the very first time.

This was also the first ARISS contact to be streamed live on the new ARISS Australia & New Zealand YouTube channel. You can check out the tracking, photos, and audio livestream here: Link

Congratulations to the Rockingham Scout Group, ARISS Australia & New Zealand, ARISS International, NASA, John ZS6JON and the many repeater operators and every volunteer who help make these unforgettable events possible.

Page Last Updated: Tuesday, 01 Sep 2026 at 20:41 hours by Justin Giles-clark

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