Oklahoma Boy Scouts learn art of ham radio

“The boys were so excited that we got to talk to an astronaut, even if only for a few seconds,” said Doug Cook, an optometrist and an assistant scoutmaster from Guthrie.

The contact was part of the 52nd annual Jamboree-on-the-Air, an international Scouting event dedicated to the art of radio. Members of the Last Frontier Council gathered at Camp Nichols in southwest Oklahoma City.

Scouts learned to operate ham radios and tracked radio transmitters in the woods. They also performed radio surgery — on a pickle. They removed the pickle's bumps the same way Cook would remove bumps on the eyelids of his patients.

One of the projects was to contact Mike Fossum, an astronaut aboard the International Space Station. Fossum, who was an Eagle Scout, was participating in the jamboree and trying to contact as many Scouts as possible. Cook pointed the makeshift antenna toward the station and heard Fossum's voice through the static. He tried twice before Fossum returned his call.