Roy Neal, K6DUE, who died August 15 following heart surgery. He was 82.
Roy Neal, K6DUE, who died August 15 following heart surgery. He was 82. |
NEWINGTON, CT, Nov 26, 2003--An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) NA1SS special event to commemorate Roy Neal, K6DUE (SK), gets under way Saturday, November 29, with an ISS pass over the US West Coast. ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, says ARISS has provided ISS Expedition 8 Commander Mike Foale, KB5UAC, with a list of potential passes (see sidebar information on frequencies and pass times) for the November 29-30 weekend.
"It is our expectation that Mike will probably concentrate on a couple of passes over North America and/or Europe this weekend, but we cannot be sure of this," Bauer said today. "So our advice is to be listening wherever you live in the world."
Bauer said Foale hopes to be on the air from NA1SS for the special event for about two passes per weekend through December. "This, of course, is completely contingent upon his schedule and other duties or issues that might crop up on ISS," he cautioned.
ARISS earlier this month announced the special event to honor the memory of Neal, who died August 15. The Expedition 8 crew of Foale and Alex "Sasha" Kaleri, U8MIR, has been asked to communicate from space with earthbound radio amateurs during the November 29-30 weekend. ARISS has requested special event participants to keep all contacts short.
Those contacting
the ISS by voice (NA1SS) or packet (RS0ISS) through the end of December will be
eligible for a special anniversary event certificate.
 Alex Kaleri, U8MIR (left), and Expedition 8 crew commander Mike Foale, KB5UAC. [NASA Photo] |
Bauer and Sergej Samburov, RV3DR, of the ARISS Russian team credited Neal, a retired NBC news correspondent, with having the vision to make Amateur Radio a permanent feature on human spaceflight missions. Born Roy N. Hinkel, Neal chaired the Space Amateur Radio EXperiment (SAREX)/Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Working Group. Through his extensive NASA contacts, he was instrumental in convincing NASA management to fly Amateur Radio onboard the space shuttle.
November 28 will mark the 20th anniversary of the first Amateur Radio operation from space by astronaut Owen Garriott, W5LFL, from the shuttle Columbia. Amateur Radio communication from the ISS began three years ago this month, when Expedition 1 crew members Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, and Bill Shepherd, KD5GSL, spoke with R3K, the Energia amateur station in Russia, and with NN1SS, the ISS ground station at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.
Bauer said those working NA1SS should not request a certificate until ARISS releases QSL instructions. "We are in the process of developing and printing the certificate, so please hold off on sending in your QSLs until we give specific envelope size instructions," Bauer advised.
ARISS is an international project with participation and support from ARRL, NASA and AMSAT.
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