JSCARC members talk with Mike Fincke.

Members of the Johnson Space Center Amateur Radio Club (JSCARC) recently got the chance to talk with Expedition 9 ISS Science Officer Mike Fincke while he orbits in the International Space Station. The talk continued a long tradition of amateur radio usage by astronauts.

“Many of the astronaut corps are licensed amateur radio operators,” said JSCARC member Kenneth Ransom of the Space Station Program Office. He added that American crewmembers have participated in the Amateur Radio on the ISS (ARISS) program starting with Expedition 1’s Bill Shepherd.

Fincke, however, was a newcomer to the amateur radio when he was named to Expedition 9 earlier this year.

“He made his first-ever amateur radio contact from the Space Station, and went on to talk to operators on every continent while aboard,” said Ransom.

In order to thank the JSCARC for his amateur radio training, Fincke requested a talk with the club. Since the timing had to be just right to accommodate the event -- the Station had to be passing over at the right time of day, and Fincke had to have a break in his busy mission schedule -- it took a while to plan, Ransom said. But the right opportunity finally came along in September.

“Late September offered an ideal Station pass time at the end of Mike's work day and during the mid-afternoon in Houston,” said Ransom. “We had a very nice 10-minute pass to talk with Mike and thank him for his support of amateur radio and the ARISS program.”

The JSCARC has been around since the late 1960s, said Larry Dietrich, JSC test engineer and JSCARC member.

“The club's call sign, W5RRR, originally belonged to one of those early employees and was reassigned to the club after he died,” said Dietrich. The club operates out of the "ham shack" on the north side of the Gilruth Center and uses equipment purchased by, or donated to, club members. The equipment is put to good use: the club not only talks to orbiting astronauts and people around the world, but also acts as a relay station for schools wanting to talk to speak with Station or Shuttle crewmembers.

	Members of the JSCARC are pictured in the ''ham shack.''

“We are also involved with readying amateur radio equipment and training astronauts,” said Dietrich, who received his first amateur radio license from the Federal Communications Commission in 1976. He said he enjoys the opportunity to talk with radio operators all over the planet and to get students interested in space.

“It's neat to see school kids get really enthused to study after talking to an astronaut in a school contact,” he said. “Maybe they, too, could be astronauts.”

Go to http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/crew/exp9/finckeham.wav to hear a clip from the JSCARC's contact with Fincke. (File size: 5.6 Mb.)

Go to http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/reference/radio/ for more information on amateur radio in spaceflight.