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Space Bulletin 020  ARLS020
>From ARRL Headquarters
Newington, CT  April 14, 1994
To all radio amateurs

HAM LINK FOR SPACECRAFT

On April 13, amateur radio linked the Russian space station MIR with
the orbiting US space shuttle.

By two meters, Astronaut Jay Apt, N5QWL, contacted Rita Iaquinto,
VK3CFI, in Melbourne, Australia, while Russian Cosmonaut Valery
Polyakov, U3MIR, hooked up with Graham Ratcliff, VK5AGR, in
Adelaide.

The Australians then used a telephone link to connect the two
spacecraft as both passed over Australia, at 5:36 pm Australia time.

The SHUTTLE-MIR contact was arranged by the Shuttle Amateur Radio
Experiment (SAREX).  The SAREX payload has flown on 12 previous
shuttle flights, providing school children, ham operators and
astronaut families with the unique opportunity to speak with the
shuttle astronauts via ham radio.

Polyakov ended his communication by wishing Apt, and the entire crew
aboard Endeavour, a safe return home.  The shuttle is scheduled to
land in Florida on Monday, April 18 at 12:12 pm.
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