SB SPACE @ ARL $ARLS023
ARLS023 Shepherd makes first casual QSOs from ISS

ZCZC AS23  
QST de W1AW  
Space Bulletin 023  ARLS023
From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington, CT  November 22, 2000
To all radio amateurs

SB SPACE ARL ARLS023
ARLS023 Shepherd makes first casual QSOs from ISS

The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station program has
announced that Commander William ''Shep'' Shepherd, KD5GSL, has made
the first casual Amateur Radio contacts from Space Station Alpha.

Shepherd reports that he was able to take a few minutes out of his
busy schedule on Friday, November 17, to engage in contacts with a
few lucky hams. Before then, the only Amateur Radio contacts
involved engineering test passes between the ISS and Russian and US
amateur facilities.

ARISS spokesman Will Marchant, KC6ROL, says that with the recent
arrival at ISS of a Progress cargo craft, the crew will have to
redouble its work pace. The space shuttle Endeavour STS-97 mission
to the ISS will launch November 30, so the Expedition 1 crew will
continue to put in some long hours preparing for its arrival.
Endeavour is carrying a large new solar panel for the ISS that will
permit the station to be fully powered for the first time.

More information about Amateur Radio on the International Space
Station is available on the ARISS Web site,
http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov/.
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