[NASA Photo]
[NASA Photo] |
NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 17, 2001--For the first time, there's an all-ham crew aboard the International Space Station. The Expedition 4 crew of Commander Yuri Onufrienko, RK3DUO, and flight engineers Dan Bursch, KD5PNU, and Carl Walz, KC5TIE, is settling into the ISS quarters that will be its home for the next six months. An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station school contact is on the schedule for Wednesday.
Expedition 3
crew members Commander Frank Culbertson, KD5OPQ, Mikhail Tyurin and Vladimir
Dezhurov returned to Earth today under heavy security aboard the shuttle Endeavour.
Culbertson and his crewmates are returning to a planet that's still trying to
comprehend and adjust to the changes wrought by the September 11 terrorist
attacks, which occurred while the crew was in space. The wives of the three
crew members as well as Culbertson's five children were on hand in Cape
Canaveral, Florida, to welcome them home.
 Astronaut Dan Bursch, KD5PNU, Mission Commander Yuri Onufrienko, RK3DUO, and astronaut Carl Walz, KC5TIE, pose in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station, shortly after their arrival. [NASA Photo] |
The Expedition 3 crew had been aboard the ISS since August. Operating as NA1SS from aboard the ISS, Culbertson completed nearly two dozen successful ARISS school and educational contacts.
Now it will be the Expedition 4 crew's turn, starting out with a scheduled contact December 19 or December 21 with students at Kursk Technical University in Russia. The school's Amateur Radio club, RW3WWW, has been active since 1965 and turned out 16 new hams during licensing classes this year. Penciled in on the ARISS schedule for the new crew are contacts with St Clare School in Waveland, Mississippi, during the week of January 7, and with Harrogate Ladies College (GB2HC) in Harrogate, England, the following week. Depending on the crew's work activities, an effort will be made to schedule at one ARISS school or educational contact during a typical week.
 The Starshine 2 satellite. |
Launched by the shuttle Endeavour during its return trip was another in the Starshine series of satellites. The Starshine 2 satellite was released into orbit December 16 by shuttle astronaut Dan Tani. The satellite's surface is covered by 845 mirrors that were highly polished by students around the world. The mirrors reflect sunlight and make the satellite visible for tracking by students on Earth, who will use the information they gather to calculate the density of Earth's upper atmosphere. Starshine 2 is expected to remain in orbit for about eight months. For more information, visit the Starshine Web site,
New Amateur Radio antennas carried into space for the ISS have been stowed for the time being. Current plans call for them to be installed around the perimeter of the Service Module by the Expedition 6 crew. The new antennas will allow future operation from HF to microwave frequencies, once additional ham gear is brought aboard the ISS. The HF antenna is made up of a flexible tape that will work on 10 meters--and possibly 15 and 20 meters.
While the shuttle and the ISS were linked up, the joint crews completed a busy week of unloading tons of supplies brought to the complex by Endeavour, including several thousand US flags to honor those who died in the September 11 terrorist attacks.
For more information about the ISS, visit NASA's Human Space Flight Web site.--NASA, ARISS, news accounts
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