Helms making casual QSOs from NA1SS

From the ARRL...



Astronaut Susan Helms, KC7NHZ, recently put smiles on the faces of a number of US hams. Reports from several amateurs indicate that she's made several casual voice contacts from her perch aboard the International Space Station. Mike Seguin, N1JEZ, was one of the stations who made contact with Helms on April 20. He reports she had a great signal.


Also reporting contacts were Tom Blubaugh, N7HXP, Samuel Danner, N3MPE (who worked NA1SS for the second time), and Stan Vandiver, W4SV (who posted audio from his QSO on his Web site. Helms also was active on April 23. Some stations have managed to connect with the ISS packet system, still operating as <no call>. With the STS-100 mission under way, four of the five space agencies involved in building the space station are now represented on board.




Endeavour's crew includes Italian Umberto Guidoni of the European Space Agency, Russian Yuri Lonchakov--who's been granted the call sign RS1ISS--and Canadian Chris Hadfield as well as US astronauts Kent Rominger, Jeffrey Ashby, John Phillips and Scott Parazynski, who's KC5RSY. Endeavour docked with the ISS April 21. It's not known if either of the hams from Endeavour plans to do voice QSOs while aboard the ISS. Here are the QSL routes for W/VE stations working NA1SS aboard the International Space Station: US stations QSL to Margie Bourgoin, KB1DCO, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. Canadian stations QSL to Radio Amateurs of Canada, 720 Belfast Rd--Suite 217, Ottawa, ON K1G 0Z5.



NOTE: A self-addressed, stamped envelope is required to get a QSL in return.--ANS; news reports