Our Keynote Speaker -
          Expedition 12 Commander William S. McArthur, Jr.

AMSAT is excited to announce that our 2006 Symposium Keynote speaker will be astronaut Bill McArthur KC5ACR, ISS Expedition 12 Mission Commander and Science Officer. Commander McArthur is well known to ham radio operators and during his six months aboard the ISS he became the most active radio amateur ever to serve aboard the ISS. Commander McArthur logged more than 1800 QSOs in space, including logging a Worked All States Award. His impressive track record also included a record 37 school contacts, Worked All Continents (including Antartica) and 130 DXCC entities.

Born and raised in North Carolina, McArthur attended the United States Military Academy and earned his commission in the United States Army. After serving with the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, McArthur attended the U.S. Army Aviation School and served tours of duty in Korea and Georgia (where he earned a degree in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology).

In 1987, McArthur attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and was trained as an experimental test pilot. He was assigned to a post as a test engineer at NASA and was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1990. A Master Army Aviator, Commander McArthur has logged over 4500 flight hours in 39 different aircraft and spacecraft. He has been retired from the US Army since 2001.

Astronaut McArthur is a veteran of four space flights that include:

• STS-58 - October 1993 (Spacelab Life Sciences Mission 2)
• STS-74 - November 1995 (Shuttle-Mir Docking Mission 2)
• STS-92 - October 2000 (ISS Assembly Mission 3A)
• Expedition 12 - October 2005

In addition Bill has made four spacewalks (two each aboard STS-92 and Expedition 12) and was on the backup crews of Expeditions 8, 9 and 10.

Commander McArthur is the recipient of a number of prestigious awards and honors including the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (First Oak Leaf Cluster), the NASA Space Flight Medal, and the NASA Exceptional Service Medal.

 Commander McArthur will present his keynote address during the Symposiums Banquet on Saturday October 7. To register for the Symposium and Banquet please visit the AMSAT Online Store