Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, is piloting “Call a Satellite” in its Discovery Science Center & Planetarium, an interactive space experience that allows visitors to ask questions about the International Space Station (ISS) and receive conversational responses using live orbital data and voice AI.
The exhibit gives visitors a simple way to engage with space infrastructure in real time. Instead of only seeing information about the ISS on a screen, visitors can ask questions such as “Where are you right now?” “What are you flying over?” and “How fast are you moving?” The experience combines publicly available ISS orbital data with a conversational AI voice interface, allowing visitors to ask questions naturally and receive responses about the station’s current location, speed, altitude and movement around Earth.
The experience was developed by Oasis Orbital, a space technology startup founded by Aditya Upadhyay, a Stony Brook University graduate.
“Space infrastructure often feels distant and abstract,” said Upadhyay. Call a Satellite is meant to make satellites feel more real and accessible by turning live orbital data into a conversation. When someone can ask the ISS where it is and receive an answer based on its actual position, space becomes something they can directly interact with.”
Before its installation at the Discovery Science Center & Planetarium, Call a Satellite was tested in a classroom setting at Stony Brook University. Professor Phillip Baldwin observed that students engaged naturally with the system, using live orbital data to explore concepts such as satellite position, speed, and orbital movement in a more tangible way.
The current Discovery Science Center & Planetarium pilot is designed specifically around the International Space Station. The broader Call a Satellite platform is built to support additional satellites and orbital objects over time, with the goal of making complex space systems more understandable through interactive public education.
The exhibit reflects the Discovery Science Center & Planetarium’s mission to create engaging, hands-on science experiences for visitors. By combining live space data with conversational interaction, Call a Satellite gives visitors a new way to explore Earth orbit and understand the technology moving above them every day.
Call a Satellite has a limited pilot run until July 9. Discovery is open to the public Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., with Mondays for members and private groups only.
As one of the nation’s largest Catholic universities and among the fastest-growing private doctoral institutions in the U.S., Sacred Heart University is a national leader in shaping higher education for the 21st century.
Discovery Science Center & Planetarium is an independent nonprofit educational organization located in Bridgeport, Connecticut, which seeks to connect audiences of all ages with science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) learning. The belief in the importance of providing hands-on STEAM learning experiences that resonate with children’s natural curiosity and love of learning is at the core of the Discovery mission. It is an active advocate for STEAM literacy in Connecticut and utilizes unique resources and expertise in informal STEAM learning to encourage and provide a pathway for learners of all ages to become STEAM-empowered and informed decision-makers in an increasingly technology-driven world.
Call a Satellite is an interactive voice interface that translates live satellite telemetry into conversational responses for museums, classrooms and public science education environments.
Oasis Orbital is a space technology startup founded by Aditya Upadhyay. The company is developing interactive tools that make space systems, satellites and orbital infrastructure more accessible to the public. Upadhyay’s work sits at the intersection of software, space education and public engagement. He is especially interested in the systems operating above Earth every day, many of which remain invisible to the public despite their role in weather, navigation, communications, and environmental monitoring. Through Oasis Orbital, he is building public-facing technology that helps visitors, students and educators experience orbital systems in a more direct and memorable way.
