Message to astronauts hits cyberspace
Students gathered to send a message to Robert Thirk aboard the International Space Station. / Photo: Greg FulmesA winking eye and a word of inspiration: dream. That was the light message beamed into the night sky Saturday by more than 300 University of Calgary students. They sent this unusual communiqué to Canadian astronaut and distinguished U of C alumnus Dr. Robert Thirsk on the International Space Station. The space station began passing overhead at 8:34 p.m. and took six minutes to make its journey across the southern Alberta sky.
The message was captured on video and released by the Schulich School of Engineering today on YouTube and the University of Calgary website at the following links:
The students were bused to an acreage south of Calgary where they gathered in a grid and pointed 300 LED light panels to the heavens. They flashed “Dream” in Morse code, spelled it out in letters, then formed the shape of an eye that winked. Students also spelled out a spontaneous message: ERTW (Engineers Rule The World).
The carefully choreographed event, called Lift Up Your Eyes, was weeks in the making. It was a collaboration involving U of C students, faculty members, staff and alumni. They were looking for a creative way to send a greeting to one of the university’s most successful and high-profile
graduates. Dr. Thirsk earned his mechanical engineering degree at the Schulich School of Engineering in 1976. He is the first Canadian on an extended space mission, conducting experiments on the International Space Station for six months.
“Dr. Thirsk is a great example of the possibilities that are ahead for us,” said Kasmira Pawa, president of the Engineering Students’ Society at the Schulich School of Engineering. “This was an amazing opportunity for students to reach out to a graduate and recognize his achievements.”
“Through the use of LED technology, we wanted to collaborate with students to recognize one of the best role models we could have,” said Elizabeth Cannon, dean of the Schulich School of Engineering. “We thank all the collaborators for their adventurous spirit and their support to make this event a success.”
The lights were made especially for this event and donated by OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, one of the two leading lighting manufacturers in the world. Each panel had four high-brightness LEDs, two nine-volt batteries and a simple switch that allowed students to manually flash the lights to send their signal.
“We wanted the students to have free range of expression and provided LED units that can be arranged in a multitude of ways, enabling the students to send their unique illuminated message to the International Space Station,” said Tom Shottes, president and CEO of OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, Inc. “We are just thrilled to be a part of this inspirational event and to support the engineers of the future in reaching their goals, however far-reaching they may be.”
The property where the students gathered to send their signal belongs to Soren Christiansen, Dr. Thirsk’s friend and former engineering classmate at the University of Calgary.
“I appreciate being a small part of this unique display that honors Bob,” said Christiansen. “This message for him is kind of like payback for the many things he has done for so many groups and individuals in the last 100-plus days in space. This historic message helps tie Bob to activities back on Earth.”
Because of the cloud cover Saturday night, Dr. Thirsk had difficulty watching the message from the International Space Station. The video will be forwarded to him to watch.
|
September 28, 2009