[sarex] ARISS Notice -- ISS' Mike Fincke, W.A.C.

["Scott H. Stevens / N3ASA" <n3asa@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Saturday, Sept. 11, Mike Fincke (KE5AIT) became the 
first crewmember of the International Space Station to 
talk to all 7 continents using amateur radio when he 
talked with Palmer Research Station (KC4AAC). Mike spoke 
with Chuck Kimball (N0NHJ) and a packed radio room during 
the 8 degree maximum pass. Kimball commented "I think the 
contact caught the interest of most everyone here, and 
raised everyone's spirits a bit." Fincke and Kimball 
compared and contrasted life in the two stations, 
discussed time zone differences and the experiments 
involving fluids that Finkce was working with for 
"Saturday Science".

Fincke is believed to be only the third astronaut to 
accomplish this feat. The last such occurrence occurred in 
1992 aboard STS-45 when David Leesma and Kathryn Sullivan 
also talked to Palmer Station to complete their continent 
contact list. Fincke will be finishing his tour in the 
middle of October when Expedition 10 Astronaut Leroy Chiao 
(KE5BRW) and Cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov will come aboard. 

Later that Saturday, the amateur radio equipment was 
configured for crossband voice repeat operations and 
should stay in that mode of operation until just prior to 
the next scheduled school contact currently scheduled for 
this Friday over Japan at 0738 UTC. The current crossband 
repeater operates on an uplink of 437.800 and downlink of 
145.800. No tone is required but note that the Doppler 
effect is significant (10 KHz) on the uplink.


Courtesy of Kenneth Ransom, JSC
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