The space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). Maybe someday one of our ARISS *STAR* students will use their telerobotics skills to control scientific rovers on the Moon or Mars!”Īmateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and We thank the ARRL Foundation for their vision to move this initiative forward. What a better way to honor Keith than through the ARISS *STAR* initiative. ARISS-USA Executive Director Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, praised the ARRL Foundation, saying, “ARISS team member, Keith Pugh, W5IU, poured his energy into inspiring, engaging and educating youth in space and in amateur radio endeavors. The ARRL Foundation was established in 1973 by ARRL, The National Association for Amateur Radio ®, and advances the art, science and societal benefits of the Amateur Radio Service by awarding financial grants and scholarships to individuals and organizations in support of their charitable, educational and scientific efforts. *STAR*, therefore, gives ARISS a new educational dimension to attract the attention of more education groups and their students and educators-outreach that promises to attract new audiences. Telerobotics adds a wireless accent to robotic control. Robotics is gaining popularity among youth and adults alike. Overarching goals for *STAR* are to improve and sustain ARISS STEAM educational outcomes with youth. Some participating students will want to prepare for, and earn, their amateur radio licenses, using ham radio to learn and practice concepts in radio technology and radio communications. Next, youth teams will be selected to experiment and critique *STAR* telerobotics scenarios along closed courses and radio lessons. Systems development and evaluation will be led by university staff and students who will undertake hands-on-wireless and telerobotics lesson development, learn about Amateur Radio, and support the development of the *STAR* engineering hardware and software. Year 1 focuses on systems development and initial validation of *ARISS* STAR, and Year 2 focuses on evaluation and final validation. He was an expert supporter of ARISS for many years, a star ARISS Technical Mentor assisting schools with their ARISS contacts, finding educators who might be interested in learning about ARISS, and going to schools to lead youth in a variety of lessons about wireless radio technology.ĪRISS *STAR* (short for ARISS *STAR* Keith Pugh Memoriam Project), is a brand-new education program that will enable US junior high and high school education groups to remotely control robots through digital APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) commands using amateur radio. The project honors the memory of highly-respected Keith Pugh, whose call sign was W5IU (Silent Key, May 2019). The ARRL Foundation very generously provided $47,533. ARISS is constantly pursuing educational opportunities that inspire student interest and outcomes.ĪRISS-USA is pleased to announce that the ARRL Foundation awarded funding for the first year of a two-year project called the “ARISS *STAR * Keith Pugh Memoriam Project” with *STAR * being the acronym for Space Telerobotics using Amateur Radio. In the last two decades, over 1,400 contacts have connected more than one million youth using amateur radio, with millions more watching and learning. For the ARISS *STAR * Keith Pugh Memoriam ProjectĪRISS-USA is known for engaging students in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) subjects by arranging live question-and-answer sessions via amateur radio (ham radio) between K-12 students and astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS).