Greetings from space and a change of guard highlight Amsat-NA gathering

A congratulatory greeting via ham radio from the crew of the International Space Station was among the highlights of the 2004 AMSAT-NA Symposium and Annual Meeting October 8-10 in Arlington, Virginia.

The gathering - for the first time held in conjunction with this week's Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) International delegates meeting - attracted upward of 200 attendees - among them some of the best-known names in the amateur satellite world.

Fincke joined the celebration vicariously by working ARISS Ham Radio Technical Manager Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO, during an ISS pass October 9.

"I'd like to send a greeting to all the people attending the AMSAT conference and congratulate you all on 35 years of Amateur Radio in space," astronaut Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, said from NA1SS on behalf of himself and Expedition 9 Commander Gennady Padalka, RN3DT. "Wishing you
all the best from the International Space Station!" Fincke jumped in to work Ransom and several other stations while the ARISS amateur gear was in FM repeater mode.

"Thanks to you guys, people in the world are a little bit closer together," Fincke added. In a second QSO with WF5X, Fincke reiterated his greeting and expressed gratitude to AMSAT - an ARISS partner - for the amateur equipment aboard the space station. Fincke briefly switched to Russian to also greet ARISS-Russia delegate Sergei Samburov, RV3DR, who was with Ransom in Arlington during the QSO.

The annual gathering marked the official changing of the guard at AMSAT-NA as Robin Haighton, VE3FRH, presided over his last Board of Directors meeting October 8 before turning over the gavel to incoming president Rick Hambly, W2GPS. At the board session, members agreed to file a Petition for Reconsideration of the recent FCC Second Report and Order in IB Docket 02-54 dealing with orbital debris.

Haighton's four-year tenure spanned this year's success of the Echo/AO-51 satellite, which has helped the organization to rebound from the earlier, less-than-successful outcome of the now-defunct Phase 3D/AO-40 - the most expensive and elaborate amateur satellite project in history. Planning for
the proposed Project Eagle satellite also got under way under Haighton's AMSAT-NA leadership. That work will continue under Hambly.

Haighton had the pleasure of announcing that AMSAT finally was able to recover the entire $110,000 Echo launch cost, thanks to donations from individuals attending the AMSAT Symposium and matching funds.

Hambly hopes to proceed with new satellite projects already on the drawing board as well as to expand AMSAT-NA's educational mission. He also faces the challenge of finding a new home for the AMSAT Lab. The Orlando building where Phase 3D was integrated was damaged beyond repair by
Hurricane Charley.

In addition to hearing updates on satellite projects present and future, Symposium attendees were able to choose from a rich menu of presentations. Among them, AMSAT-DL President Peter Gülzow, DB2OS, outlined plans for a
Phase 3 Express (P3E) satellite - essentially a scaled-down and less-complex version of AO-40. AMSAT-NA is a partner in the P3E high-altitude-orbit satellite, which will be a prelude to an ambitious Mars-orbiting spacecraft. Other presentations covered such diverse topics as Voice over Internet Protocol communication for the ARISS program, the
AMSAT-UK Student Space Exploration and Technology Initiative (SSETI) satellite, CubeSats, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence and a proposal for a satellite with an onboard robot to repair it.

ISS Expedition 4 crew member and astronaut Carl Walz, KC5TIE, keynoted the October 9 banquet. Among the many high points of his duty tour was a 2002 space walk with Expedition 4 Commander Yuri Onufrienko, RK3DUO, to install the first of four ARISS antennas on the ISS.

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

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