Space station crew \'hams\' it up ahead of cargo ship visit

CNN Reports...



The first residents of the International Space Station enjoyed a few days rest before preparing for the arrival of a Russian spacecraft crammed with tons of supplies. During their down time they hooked up a ham radio and spoke with people more than 200 miles (320 km) below on Earth.




<TABLE>
<TR>
<TD VALIGN=TOP>
The crew of two cosmonauts and one astronaut over the weekend successfully fired up their new ham radio equipment in Zarya, one of three modules currently comprising the orbiting outpost, NASA said.



The agency said the trio would use the radio to talk with school children and ham radio operators throughout the world. But a NASA spokesman at Mission Control in Houston said Monday he did not know who the crew spoke with during their first ham radio conversations.



</TD>
<TD>
</TD>
<TR>
</TABLE>