[Ham-News] Amateur Radio Newsline 1330 - February 7, 2003
ham-news-admin at mailman.qth.net
ham-news-admin at mailman.qth.net
Sat Feb 8 01:02:27 EST 2003
The following is a Q-S-T. The space shuttle Columbia falls from the sky
and all on-board are lost. Three were radio amateurs. More on the
tragedy and the search for answers comes your way right now:
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: HAM RADIO OPERATORS LOST IN COLUMBIA TRAGEDY
Three ham radio operators were among the seven member crew of the space
shuttle Columbia who were killed when the orbiter broke up during re-
entry over Texas on Saturday February 1st. Amateur Radio Nesline's Norm
Seeley, KI7UP, has the details:
--
President Bush Audio: Audio only report. Hear it at
http://www.arnewsline.org
--
Those were the words of President George W. Bush expressing the grief of
the world on learning that that the spaceship Columbia had fallen from
the sky. That it's crew of seven astronasuts was lost.
On board was a 7 member crew that included three ham radio operators.
Killed in there tragedy were Mission Commander Rick Husband, and Pilot
William McCool. Also lost were Mission Specialists Michael Anderson,
David Brown KC5ZTC, Laurel Clark, KC5ZSU, Kalpana Chawla, KD5ESI and
Israeli Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon. Ramon was a well-known Israeli
Air Force pilot became the first man from his country to fly in space.
Columbia was at an altitude of about 203,000 feet over north-central
Texas and traveling at 12,500 mph, when Mission Control lost all contact
and tracking data. It was about 9 a.m Eastern time. That was almost the
same moment when residents in the Dallas area reported hearing a
gigantic sonic boom. The loudest anyone had ever heard. Witnesses who
looked up reported seeing a bright flash followed by smoke plumes
streaking across the sky. Several people grabbed their home video
cameras and caught the tragedy. Tape shows debris appearing to break
off into separate balls of light and falling back to Earth.
What actually happened is still very much unclear. The shuttle is
essentially a glider during the hour-long decent from orbit. It is
covered by some 20,000 thermal tiles to protect against temperatures as
high as 3,000 degrees.
The space agency is already looking at a liftoff incident where a part
of the center fuel tank's foam insulation broke away and impacted one of
the Columbia's wings. NASA saus that just before it disintegrated
Columbia experienced an abnormal rise in temperature and wind
resistance. That forced the shuttle's automatic pilot to make rapid
changes to its flight path. Some experts say that this is possible
evidence that some heat-protection tiles were missing or damaged.
Administration officials said there was no immediate indication of
terrorism but accounts from those on the ground have lead to speculation
of a explosion somewhere on board the orbiter. Others say the
abnormally high sound level was the result of multiple pieces of
Columbia all breaking the sound barrier at slightly different times and
creating an ongoing sonic boom.
Debris from Columbia fell along Northern Texas and into Louisiana. NASA
declared an emergency after losing contact with the crew and sent search
teams to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. It also warned people to stay well
clear of any debris field they might encounter because of chemical
contamination from the very toxic fuel. But that was easier said than
done. Residents of the town of Nacogdoches say they found bits of metal
strewn all across the city and a local dentist reported that a metal
bracket about a foot long crashed through his office roof.
STS-107 was NASA's 144th shuttle mission.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Norm Seeley, KI7UP.
--
On January 28th, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly
after liftoff but in 42 years of U.S. human space flight, there had
never been an accident during the descent to Earth or landing until now.
NASA has grounded all of its space shuttles, but there's no word yet
that the Columbia tragedy will affect the current Expedition 7 crew's
future aboard the International Space Station. (ARNewsline™ from
published news reports)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: TEXAS HAMS ASSIST IN SHUTTLE DEBRIS HUNT
Amateur Radio played a signifigant role in the debris recovery efforts
after Columbia broke up over Texas. Amateur Radio Newsline's David
Black, KB4KCH, has that part of the story.
--
A family member gets a close-up view to the tragedy. One of the
Columbia's heat protective tiles was found near my nephew's college dorm
in north central Texas. My newphew took a picture of it, which you can
see on the Amateur Radio Newsline website. While the tile survived re-
entry, the Columbia did not.
Within hours of the accident, Amateur Radio Emergency Service volunteers
with the Nacogdoches Amateur Radio Club began helping Emergency
Management officials and NASA teams in locating and cataloging debris
falling from the shuttle.
Tim Lewallen, KD5ING, is the Public Information Officer for the
Nacogdoches Amateur Radio Club. He says the hams worked in tandem with
students from a local college's Geographical Information Systems lab.
Together, they surveyed the city and county looking for shuttle debris.
When any was located it was photographed and its exact position
determined using a G-P-S. The data was later downloaded into a database
that will be superimposed over terrain maps. Local officials say debris
was found in nearly 2,000 sites, including some 1,200 places in
Nacogdoches County.
As we go to air, well over 12,000 pieces of Columbia had been found,
from as far west as New Mexico eastward into Louisiana. NASA hopes the
position of the debris field will give it some insight into what caused
Columbia to disintegrate.
Reporting for the Amateur Radio Newsline, I',m David Black, KB4KCH.
--
Lewallan says that the entire effort was coordinated by the ARES group.
He adds that ARES volunteers were also directed to coordinates given by
NASA that the space agency believed might contain missing parts of the
Columbia. The recovery and cataloging effort went on for several days.
(Nacogdoches Amateur Radio Club via KD5ING)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: AMSAT MOURNS COLUMBIA LOSS
Its no secret that Amateur Radio and the space program have had a very
close association since the very first Orbiting Satellite Carrying
Amateur Radio or OSCAR was launched back on December 12th 1961. It was
carried into space by a United States built Thor Agena launch vehicle
from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. OSCAR 1 was a tiny 4.5 kg
package that made only 312 orbits before re-entering the Earths
atmosphere. But it set the stage for four decades of ham radio in
space. A lot of it took place from the space shuttles including
Columbia. In fact it was from Columbia that ham radio's first man in
space, Owen Garriott, W5LFL, talked to a senator and a king:
--
Audio only. Hear it in the audio version at http://www.arnewsline.org
--
And so it was when news of the Columbia's demise began to settle in that
the representatives of AMSAT groups from around the world began paying
their respects. Perhapps none was more poignant than the words of AMSAT
North America President Robin Haighton, VE3FRH. His statement is read
by Amateur Radio Newsline's Newsline's Henry Feinberg, K2SSQ:
--
"It is with great sadness that I have learnt of the Columbia disaster.
AMSAT has always been a strong supporter of the Shuttle program and of
ARISS. We have had many interactions with the astronauts who have
fearlessly ridden the shuttle into space. Currently several are AMSAT
members and supporters.
On this sad occasion on behalf of the Board of Directors, Officers and
Members of AMSAT, I wish to send our deep sympathy to the families,
relatives and friends of those who undertook this Columbia mission.
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.
To our friends at NASA, we at AMSAT send our understanding and our
sympathy,
knowing that the exploration of space and carrying out important
experiments
for the benefit of humanity will continue to be your mission."
--
AMSAT France, AMSAT Germany, AMSAT Itlaly, AMSAT Sri Lanka and other
AMSAT groups the world over also offered words of condolence an
consolation.
Frank H. Bauer, KA3HDO, the Chairman of ARISS International issued a
statement that read in part -- and we quote: "This is a difficult time
for all of us. Let's work together to keep the torch of space travel
alive in the hearts and spirits of humans worldwide. And most
importantly, please keep the astronauts, their family and friends in
your thoughts and prayers." (AMSAT-NA, ARISS, others)
**
RESCUE RADIO: TENNESSEE HAMS HELP AFTER TORNADO
The January 8th issue of the Knoxville News-Sentinel tells the story of
Sheila Tailent, KB4G, and how she came to the rescue after a tornado
ripped through Morgan County Tennessee. Tailent is the state ARES
coordinator realized a need to provide reliable communications following
the storm. Thanks to her efforts, within 15 minutes after the twister
struck hams with emergency communications gear were on their way.
According to the News-Sentinel, for the next 48 hours ham radio
volunteers relayed communications among police departments,
firefighters, rescue squads, demolition units, repair crews the Red
Cross and many others. The article says that dozens of radio amateurs
worked around the clock with many taking vacation days from work and
donating the time to the community.
The newspaper says that a conservative estimate of the value of the
communications provided free of charge by hams to Morgan County could be
upward of $80,000. (W5YI Report)
**
RESCUE RADIO: BE PREPARED - PART 2
The Columbia tragedy and the Morgan County tornado are two incidents
that again bring home just how important it is for ham radio operators
to be prepared. The ARES members in Nacogdoches Texas had no idea that
their training would involve them in trying to find out why a space
shuttle fell from the sky. But thats excatly the role that they played
-- and continue to play.
Last Week, Lloyd Colston, KC5FM, was here to explain the importance of
emergency preparedness. Now says Colston, its time for some personal
preparations:
--
Audio only report. Hear it at http://www.arnewsline.org
--
Lloyd Colston, KC5FM, is with the Mayes County Emergency Management in
Pryor Oklahoma. He will be back from time to time with other tips on
how hams can be ready for any emergency that may come their way.
(KC5FM)
**
RADIO LAW: FCC AND NTIA TO IMPROVE FREQUENCY COORDINATION
The FCC and the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and
Information Administration have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding
on spectrum coordination. According to the C-G-C Communicator, the
agreement calls for the FCC to responsible for non-federal frequency
users such as broadcast, commercial, public safety and even Amateur
Radio. The N-T-I-A will hold responsibility for all federal government
users. The full document is on line at
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-230835A1.doc (CGC
Communicator)
**
SPECTRUM ISSUES: FCC REALLOCATES SPECTRUM FOR NEW WIRELESS SERVICES
Also from the C-G-C Communicator word that the FCC has reallocated 30
megahertz of spectrum from the 2 GHz Mobile Satellite Service to fixed
and mobile services. The purpose is to provide frequencies for a
variety of new wireless applications. The Commission is seeking
comments on potential uses of an additional 15 megahertz of spectrum
previously identified for new wireless services. It also wants comments
on increased flexibility in the Unlicensed Personal Communications
Service band. This too is on the web. You will find it at:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-230754A1.doc (CGC
Communicator)
**
CONVENTIONS AND HAMFESTS: SUPERFEST 2003
A-E-S has gotten it's Superfest 2003 registration form online. The
Superfest takes place April 4th and 5th at Amateur Electronic Supply in
Milwaukee. To register take your web browser to
www.aesham.com and take the link to the Superfest menu. If you need
help or have any questions, please contact Molly Schreiber at A-E-S.
Her e-mail is molly at aesham.com (AES)
**
HAMFESTS AND CONVENTIONS: RADIOFEST IN SEASIDE CALIFORNIA
The Naval Postgraduate School Amateur Radio Club will host RadioFest
2003 on Saturday, February 22nd. This is a West Coast hamfest and will
be held at the General Stilwell Community Center in Seaside, California.
The show includes a flea market, vendor booths, demonstrations, license
exams, door prizes and more. Among the forum presenters scheduled are
Leslie Ragghianti from the 911 Emergency Communications Center, Jeff
Orr, K-G-6-K-C-O, discussing "Echo Link" along with Don Carlson ,
KQ6FM, and Glenn Thomas, WB6W discussing ARES. Sound interesting? For
more information go to the web at www.radiofest.org (W6FVI)
**
RADIO MEETINGS: SCADS IN SEAL BEACH CALIFORNIA
Also in the Golden State the Southern California Area DXer's shortwave
listeners monthly meeting takes place on Saturday February 15th from
noon to 4:00 p.m. Pacific time. The venue is the F&M Bank Community
Room in Seal Beach California. This months subject is Radio
Communication Listening Worldwide. For more information e-mail Bill
Fisher at billfishernow at netzero.net (SCADS)
**
THE FUTURE: HOW TO MAKE HAM RADIO MORE KID FRIENDLY
"How to Make Ham Radio More Kid Friendly" is the topic that Amateur
Radio Newsline has chosen for this years Ham Radio Town Meeting and we
are looking for some younger hams who might want to take part.
The Town Meeting is held each May at the Dayton Hamvention. This years
Hamvention theme is the "Year of the Young" and planners tell us that
the three day show will focus on the young ham and on bringing 12 to 18
year olds into amateur radio.
Its no secret that recruiting youngsters into the hobby is getting
harder and harder. Keeping most of them is all but impossible. There
is organized sports. There are those numerous after school activities.
And lets not forget the lure of the World Wide Web with its license free
ham-radio like chat rooms. All of this makes it a real challenge to get
youngsters licensed and keep them interested.
Obviously the old ways of recruiting young people no longer work. So we
are going to take two hours and give you the chance to come up with some
new ways.
If you are a young ham planning to attend Hamvention 2003 and would like
10 minutes to present your ideas, drop us an e-mail. We will go through
what you send us and some of you might be invited to be a part of our
all-star panel.
The best way to contact us is by e-mail. Mark your note Town Meeting
and send it to newsline at arnewsline.org. (ARNewsline™)
**
ON THE WEB: REPEATER LINKING POWERPOINT PRESENTATION
If you are into repeater linking, this one is for you. Kevin Custer,
W3KKC, reports over the VHF Reflector on a new Repeater Linking
presentation using Microsoft's Power Point Presentation format. It was
produced by Douglas Otoupal, N5HYD, is 131 kilobytes in and available at
http://www.repeater-builder.com/rbtip/pdfindex.html. (VHF Reflector)
**
INTERNATIONAL - GREECE: NEW VHF/UHF ONLY LICENSE CLASS
The V-H-F Reflector says that Greece now has its own, entry level VHF
only license. The new ticket use the prefix SW1 through SW9 with
priveleges on 2 meters and above. SV1 through SV9 prefixes indicate
Greek stations that have full High Frequency operating privileges. (VHF
REflector)
**
INTERNATIONAL - GERMANY: DEUTSCHE WELLE DROPPING NORTH AMERICAN SERVICE
Germany's premiere shortwave station says that transmissions to North
America will soon cease. This with confirmation by Margot Forbes of the
broadcaster Deutsche Welle that it will be terminating the long running
service at the end of March.
Up until now, there have been several claims made by various sources
that Deutsche Welle would be shutting down its broadcasts to North
America this spring. The station would not deny or confirm this
directly until now.
According to Forbes, the stations budget has been slashed time and time
again by the German Government. Forbes says that maintaining
shortwave transmissions are particularly expensive and the decision has
been made to cancel operation on some frequencies. This includes the
very popular transmissions to North America
Forbes says that there are no plans yet for a replacement service. but
says there is the possibility of somthing being worked out using
satellite delivery or over the Internet. (shortwavedxing.com)
**
PROPAGATION: SA 100 MICROWATT 7 MHZ BEACON HERARD IN USA
And a possible record for a high frequency beacon transmitter. Over the
last 4 months, an extremely low power beacon transmitter has been
operating from the QTH of ZS1J at Plettenberg Bay, South Africa. The
measured power output of the 7.029 MHz transmissions is 100 microwatts
and reception reports from all over South Africa, up to 1100 kilometers,
have been received. But the big surpriose came on Tuesday January
29th. Bill Diggens, WA8LXJ, in West Union Ohio made a positive
identification of the beacon transmiutter.
Diggens gave it a Readability 2, Signal strength 1 and tone T 9. He
also made a tape recording of the signal received and played it back to
amazed South African amateurs on the daily, split frequency net. A newt
that can be found 7.095 and 7.177 MHz in the 40 meter band. (ZS6AKV)
**
DX
In DX, PS7AB says that Mexiana Island will be on the air May 21st
through the 25th. Five operators will activate Mexiana on 40 through 10
meters on SSB only. Mexiana is considered the most wanted Islands on
the Air group in all of South America. More information is on the web
at http://www.mexianaisland2003.hpg.com.br (Press release)
**
THAT FINAL ITEM: HAM RADIO AND THE SPACESHIP COLUMBIA
And finally this week, we like many other Amateur Radio operators around
the world felt a special loss following the Columbia space shuttle
disaster. As we already mentioned, three of the astronauts on board
were licensed Amateur Radio operators. And Amateur Radio has had close
ties to the space program, to the astronauts, and to the ill-fated
Columbia since the very early days of shuttle flights.
It was on board the Columbia during the STS-9 mission in November of
1983 that Dr. Owen Garriott, W5LFL, became the first person ever to
operate a ham radio station from space. In case you have forgotten,
this is how that historic contact sounded:
--
Audio only. Hear it in the audio version at http://www.arnewsline.org
--
That QSO marked the first time that astronauts could communicate
directly with people on Earth. And they did it without going through
the normal NASA's communications channels.
In 1990, NASA, the ARRL and AMSAT formed SAREX -- The Shuttle Amateur
Radio Experiment. This was a program to schedule regular contacts
between school students and the astronauts on-orbit using Amateur Radio.
Astronauts were encouraged to obtain Amateur Radio licenses. Many did
and they used them to talk with kids in schools the world over. A lot
of those contacts took place from the mid-deck of the spaceship
Columbia.
--
Audio only. Hear it in the audio version at http://www.arnewsline.org
--
In addition to the SAREX contacts, astronauts were encouraged to spend
some of their free time making random contacts with hams on Earth. Open
contacts they were called and they became a new form of radiosport. A
kind of contest with radio amateurs everywhere vying to be the first in
the city or neighborhood to talk to a ham radio operator in space.
Then Russia entered the realm of ham radio on-orbit. Amateur Radio gear
was installed on its MIR space station and talking with cosmonauts soon
became almost commonplace. Who can forget British astronaut Helen
Sharman when she visited the MIR and took to the airwaves using ham
radio.
--
Audio only. Hear it in the audio version at http://www.arnewsline.org
--
SAREX has now given weay to ARISS -- Amateur Radio on the International
Space Station. But it all had to have a beginning and from its earliest
days on-orbit until it disintegrated in the sky above Texas the space
ship Columbia and ham radio have shared history together. Now the
Columbia is now gone, but the world of Amateur Radio will never, ever
forget it or the seven human beings who were on it when it met its firey
demise. (From the combined thoughts of the worlds radio amateurs as
posted to various Internet remailers, by e-mail and numerous other
sources.)
***
NEWSCAST CLOSE
With thanks to Alan Labs, Amateur News Weekly, AMSAT, the ARRL, the CGC
Communicator, CQ Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio Penn DX Bulletin, Radio
Netherlands, Rain, the RSGB and Australia's Q-News, that's all from the
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm). Our e-mail address is newsline
@arnewsline.org. More information is available at Amateur Radio
Newsline's(tm) only official website located at www.arnewsline.org. You
can also write to us or support us at Amateur Radio Newsline(tm), P.O.
Box 660937, Arcadia, California 91066.
For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk, I'm Jim
Damron, N8TMW and I'm Jeff Clark, K8JAC,saying 73 and we thank you for
listening." Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2002. All rights
reserved.
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