|
US businesswoman Anousheh Ansari, will travel to the ISS on September
18 as part of the Russian Soyuz 'taxi mission' and hopes to try ham radio
QSOs from space.
Ansari had decided originally, not to do amateur radio contacts after
realizing her heavy schedule didn't allow her to study for her ham radio
exam.
She was scheduled to fly in 2007, but when Daisuke Enomoto was grounded
due to medical issues, her ETA was moved up.
Ansari was trained on the ISS radios by the Russian ARISS Team quite
a few months ago. Now, she has decided to go for a potential ham radio
QSO with students at George Washington University, her alma mater, on
September 22.
"The ARISS AMSAT Washington DC Team was asked just recently to support
this QSO, and have done an outstanding job pulling everything together
quickly," says ARRL ARISS Program Manager Rosalie White, K1STO. "Mark
Steiner, K3MS, is leading the effort.
In addition, Anoushe hopes to talk with US-licensed school children,
and take advantage of the astronauts as her Control Operator.
She will be listening at various times on Thursday, September 21, through
Tuesday, September 26, using RS0ISS.
Because of third-party issues, Ansari may only speak to youths who have
amateur radio licenses.
She is the fourth private citizen and the first female civilian, to fly
to the ISS.
Rosalie White, K1STO
|
