New, two-ham team takes over aboard ISS

International Space Station Expedition 10 crew members Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, and Salizhan Sharipov have formally handed over command of the station to the Expedition 11 crew of Commander Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, and US Astronaut and ISS Science Officer and Flight Engineer John Phillips, KE5DRY. A formal change-of-command ceremony was held aboard the ISS.

"We are at the end of our mission," said Chiao, who headed the Expedition 10 crew. "Salizhan Shapirovich Shapirov and I look back with pride at our mission and accomplishments. We are proud to have represented the international partnership in space and to have moved us forward in our
collective efforts to further our reach into the cosmos."

Chiao then handed the microphone over to Krikalev.
"John Phillips and I are ready to accept the responsibility of operating and maintaining the ISS," the new commander said. "We will take good care of her and continue the
forward push in our international efforts of space exploration." Chiao then formally passed command of the ISS to Krikalev, which he accepted.

Accompanying Krikalev and Phillips on the April 15 Soyuz "taxi flight" was European Space Agency (ESA) Astronaut Roberto Vittori, IZ6ERU, of Italy. Over the past week, the five space travelers have been involved in various crew handover duties and briefings. And while the newcomers have been settling in, Chiao and Sharipov--who have been aboard the space outpost since last October--have been gathering up their gear, understandably eager to go home.

Krikalev, 46, and Phillips, 54, both have been aboard the ISS before. Now returning as the crew commander, Krikalev was a member of the very first crew to occupy the ISS in November 2000. By the time his Expedition 11 stay is over, Krikalev will have spent more time in space than any other human. Phillips was a member of the shuttle Endeavour STS-100 crew and coordinated two spacewalks at the ISS to install Canadarm2. He's been wanting to return ever since.

During his brief visit, Vittori conducted experiments aboard the station under a commercial agreement between ESA and the Russian space agency. He also put in a little radio time, talking to youngsters back on Earth during three Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contacts.

On April 18, he conducted ARISS school group QSOs with two technical schools. One of the schools was named for wireless pioneer Guglielmo Marconi, and his daughter, Princess Elettra Marconi, assisted in the event and extended greetings to Vittori, at one point saying her father "would
have been proud of you for your marvelous mission."

On April 20, Vittori answered questions from youngsters gathered at the European Space Research Institute (ESRIN) in Frascati, Italy. The ESA had invited more than 120 pupils from primary schools in the region to the event. All of Vittori's school group contacts were conducted in Italian.
Special event station II0ESA will be on the air on HF from Rome until May 15 to celebrate the Vittori's flight.

The departing crew and Vittori will leave the ISS Sunday, April 24, aboard the Soyuz transporter that carried Expedition 10 into space last fall. They're scheduled to land that evening in Kazakhstan.

Although he made few casual Amateur Radio contacts, Chiao set an ARISS record during his duty tour by racking up a total of 23 ARISS school group contacts. The first Expedition 11 ARISS school group contact is scheduled for May 4.

Source: ARRL Letter - courtesy of The American Radio Relay League

Other recent stories..

Other News Stories

• Get our news headlines for your website - click here
• Submit your news story - click here