At Jamboree, Local Scout Gets to Talk to an Astronaut
A boy scout from Wayne -- who's attending the national jamboree in Virginia -- was among six selected from the more than 40,000 boys there for an out-of-this-world experience.
KYW's Mark Abrams reports fifteen-year-old Life Scout Fritzi Fischer of Devon Troop 50 got to talk with astronaut Doug Wheelock aboard the International Space Station as it streaked across the skies above Fort AP Hill, just outside of Bowling Green, Va. Saturday afternoon.
He did it using a ham radio link arranged with NASA by amateur radio operators here at the jamboree.
"Do you think our Scouting program could have a positive effect on space exploration?"
Fischer says it was a thrilling moment to realize he was talking to an astronaut soaring just above him:
"I have a space exploration merit badge and an astronomy merit badge and all that stuff, so, it was interesting to learn what an actual person who's in space's view is of the Scouting program."
Jonathan Abramowicz, a Star Scout from the Reading area, also was among the select group and learned that much like the Scouts, astronauts are called upon to improvise and be resourceful.
(Photo by KYW's Mark Abrams)
