[AReU] Some news of the Columbia disaster and it's affect on ham radio.

[w4tas]

From: ARRL Letter Mailing List <letter-dlvy@arrl.org>
To: w4tas@gte.net <w4tas@gte.net>
Subject: The ARRL Letter, Vol 22, No 06
Date: Saturday, February 08, 2003 8:59 AM

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The ARRL Letter
Vol. 22, No. 06
February 7, 2003
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==>AMATEUR RADIO COMMUNITY MOURNS LOSS OF COLUMBIA ASTRONAUTS

The flags of the United States, the ARRL and the International Amateur
Radio Union (IARU) are flying at half staff at ARRL Headquarters as the
Amateur Radio community has joined the rest of the world in mourning the
loss of the seven shuttle Columbia astronauts. Through the Space Amateur
Radio EXperiment (SAREX) and, more recently, the Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station (ARISS) programs, amateurs have enjoyed a
special relationship with the astronaut corps, many of whom are licensees.
Three of the Columbia astronauts were Amateur Radio operators, and the
ARISS program is a joint effort of ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.

"The ultimate in public service was just given by these astronauts," said
ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP. "It's a sad thing that's occurred, and
our thoughts are with the families of the astronauts who died doing what
they loved. They were part of us."

Haynie, who was in Florida last weekend for the Miami Tropical Hamboree,
said the news of the Columbia incident cast a pall over the festivities.
"You could feel it in the crowd," he said. Haynie led those attending the
ARRL forum in a moment of silence in remembrance of the lost crew members.

The STS-107 crew, headed by Commander Rick Husband, included Pilot Willie
McCool, Mission Specialists Kalpana "KC" Chawla, KD5ESI; David Brown,
KC5ZTC; Laurel Clark, KC5ZSU, Michael Anderson, and Payload Specialist
Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut.

"The world has lost seven great heroes," said ARISS International Chairman
Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, a NASA employee, in extending condolences to the
families and friends of the STS-107 crew. Bauer said the Columbia
catastrophe "clearly demonstrated the challenging and sometimes sobering
aspects" of human spaceflight.

"Our quest for space must continue despite these tragic losses," he said.

ARRL and the ARISS Team received condolences from all over the globe.
AMSAT-NA President Robin Haighton, VE3FRH--one of two Canadian ARISS
representatives--expressed his great sadness at learning of the Columbia
disaster. "AMSAT has always been a strong supporter of the shuttle program
and of ARISS," he said "Their understanding of the risks taken on this and
other missions did not prevent them from performing at the highest level
and, unfortunately, paying the ultimate price," he said of the lost crew.

Ken Pulfer, VE3PU, the other Canadian delegate to the ARISS International
Team, said he was overwhelmed by the tragedy, both in sympathy for his US
friends and because he had met so many of the astronauts himself. It was
Pulfer who convinced the Canadian government to establish an astronaut
corps of its own. "My condolences go out to all Americans at this time."
he said, calling February 1 "a sad, sad day indeed."

ARISS International Secretary Rosalie White, K1STO, recalled meeting "KC"
Chawla at an ARISS meeting at Johnson Space Center. "Kalpana was
intelligent, quiet--a professional scientist with a genuine smile," she
said. She also noted that Laurel Clark had done some "terrestrial SAREX
QSOs" from W5RRR at Johnson Space Center with students in Kansas and New
Mexico. The "terrestrial" SAREX QSOs took place at a time when the demand
from schools for radio contacts with astronauts was high but the number of
scheduled shuttle flights was very low.

Built in 1981, Columbia was the oldest shuttle in NASA's fleet and was the
first to carry Amateur Radio. Retired astronaut Owen Garriott, W5LFL,
became the first ham to operate from space in November 1983. Thousands
heard W5LFL, and hundreds had direct QSOs with him on 2 meters.
Refurbished in 1999, Columbia was on its 28th space mission. Columbia
carried no Amateur Radio gear on its last mission into space, however.

==>HAMS ASSIST IN SEARCH FOR COLUMBIA DEBRIS

In Texas this week, Amateur Radio Emergency Service and SKYWARN volunteers
have been assisting federal, state and local officials and relief
organizations in their search for shuttle Columbia debris and remains of
the crew members.

"Ham radio has proven to be the only reliable communications options
during the recovery effort," said Public Information Officer Tim Lewallen,
KD5ING, of the Nacogdoches Amateur Radio Club. "The communications systems
used by other federal and state organizations cannot penetrate 'The Pine
Curtain' as we know it in East Texas," he said. He said even local
authorities were having problems with their radio gear.

Lewallen says federal authorities have requested that every survey team
have at least one Amateur Radio operator along to help keep the recovery
efforts coordinated and organized.

Lewallen also cited the reliability of EchoLink connections among the
various groups as key to getting the operation up and running and keeping
it running smoothly. He suggested that prospective volunteers visit the
North Texas Section Web site <http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=NTX> for
additional information.

Alan Hayes, NE5AH, in the ARRL South Texas Section said February 6 that
hams were urgently needed to assist in the search and recovery effort in
the San Augustine County area east of Lufkin, site of the debris search
command center at the Department of Public Safety. Hayes said a
substantial amount of the debris recovery yet to be done--he estimates 50
percent--is in San Augustine County, which has few active hams. Debris
from the Columbia has been recovered in more than three dozen Texas
counties, and the search now has moved into parts of Arizona and
California.

"We currently have the infrastructure and portable repeaters in place,
thanks to all of the volunteer efforts from outside of our area," Hayes
said. Volunteers have been making use of a portable repeater donated by
the Garland Amateur Radio Club and set up at in San Augustine.

"To date, Amateur Radio has proven to be the only reliable communications
in this area of operations, and approximately 25 operators per day have
been needed," Hayes concluded. "Thus far, alternative communications from
sources other than Amateur Radio have not been successful."

Hayes says that two dozen or more operators are needed each day, and he
expects that need to continue for the next three weeks. Prospective
volunteers may get in touch with South Texas Section Emergency Coordinator
Bob Ehrhardt, W5ZX <w5zx@yahoo.com>.

Other agencies involved in the effort include the Texas Department of
Public Safety, Texas Department of Transportation, the FBI, local law
enforcement and fire departments and National Guard units from Texas and
elsewhere. Relief organizations include the American Red Cross, The
Salvation Army and the Texas Baptist Men's Kitchen. The Salvation Army
also has been using Amateur Radio for its communication needs.

Hams also assisted students and staffers from the Humanities Undergraduate
Environmental Sciences (HUES) Geographic Information Systems and Forestry
Resources Institute labs at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Several amateurs in Texas reported hearing a reverberating, rumbling sound
as the Columbia broke up above them and debris began to rain down on the
landscape. "Very scary," said Ralston Gober, W5ZNN, of Corsicana, Texas.
"It shook the heck out of my house and shack!"

==>SHUTTLE LOSS IMPACTING AMATEUR RADIO IN SPACE

The future of Amateur Radio in space--at least in the near term--could
depend on how fast NASA pins down the cause of the February 1 shuttle
Columbia disaster and fixes the problem. With the shuttle fleet grounded
until it does--and further International Space Station construction on
hold as a result--attention is turning to the well-being of the all-ham
ISS Expedition 6 crew of Commander Ken Bowersox, KD5JBP, Don Pettit,
KD5MDT, and Nikolai Budarin, RV3FB. Three of the Columbia astronauts also
were Amateur Radio operators.

Under normal circumstances, a shuttle mission next month would have
brought a fresh crew to the ISS and returned Bowersox and his crewmates to
Earth. With a Progress 10 cargo rocket delivery February 4, the Expedition
6 team now has sufficient supplies to sustain the crew until late June or
early July if necessary, NASA said this week.

What happens beyond that remains up in the air, although NASA has said it
would not mothball the ISS and leave the spacecraft without a crew. The
extended stay could have an unintended consequence for Amateur Radio,
however, since the temporarily stranded crew would be likely to have more
spare time on its hands.

NA1SS onboard the ISS represents the first permanent Amateur Radio station
in space. The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
International Team recently announced plans to expand NA1SS to include,
among other things, separate stations for 2 meters and 70 cm and SSTV
capabilities. ARISS is an international program with participation by
ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.

An ARISS contact set for February 6 with students at a high school in
Germany was postponed, although the ARISS contact schedule is expected to
resume later this month. "The German school QSO was postponed because of
the Columbia accident and the re-planning taking place for ISS," said
ARISS International Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO. Bauer said the crew's
having to unload a ton of equipment from the Progress rocket also was a
factor. He said he's expecting further clarification from NASA regarding
future ARISS school QSOs.

NASA reports that Bowersox, Budarin and Pettit paid a private tribute
February 4 to Columbia's astronauts. NASA ISS flight controllers radioed
the crew an audio feed from the memorial ceremony at the Johnson Space
Center in Houston.

Additional information on the crew's activities aboard the ISS is
available on NASA's Human Spaceflight Web site
<http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/>.

The crippling of the US shuttle fleet has shifted formerly unanticipated
demands on Russia and its meagerly funded space program, since Russian
supplies the Soyuz capsules that now serve as emergency escape vehicles
for the ISS crew.

"If we have the money, we can build new [Soyuz] capsules," Russian space
official and former cosmonaut Valery Ryumin assured this week. But, more
money or no, Soyuz vehicles cannot carry cargo or experiments. The
Russians also have temporarily scrapped their "space tourist" program,
which they had been promoting to raise much-needed additional funds.
Businessmen Dennis Tito, KG6FZX, and Mark Shuttleworth each paid an
estimated $20 million to fill the third Soyuz seat and spend a week aboard
the ISS. 'N Sync pop singer Lance Bass, KG4UYY, had been considered a
possible candidate for an April Soyuz taxi flight.

Now, the Soyuz could become the principal crew transport vehicle for the
ISS, although no decision has been made on whether the April taxi flight
now will be used to carry out the crew change.