SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-330.01 HISTORIC MEETING HELD FOR AMATEUR RADIO HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 330.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 25, 1996 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-330.01 Historic Meeting Held for Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) On November 4-5 an international conference was held at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, to map out plans for a permanent amateur radio station on the International Space Station. Delegates from eight member nations (Russia, Japan, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Canada, France and the United States) attended this meeting. From the United States, members of the SAREX working group, officials from NASA, U.S. representatives from the MIR Amateur Radio Experiment and members from the Johnson Space Center Amateur Radio Club attended the meetings. This historic meeting laid a firm foundation for the future of crew-tended Amateur Radio in space. The international delegates jointly developed a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote the development of Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). The primary goals of the ARISS international group is to provide for the planning, coordination and performance of amateur radio projects on the Space Station. This group will coordinate activities on Space Station similar to how the SAREX Working Group currently coordinates amateur radio activities on the Space Shuttle. The Memorandum of Understanding is to be reviewed by the AMSAT and IARU organization in each of the eight countries for review and approval. In the United States, this includes AMSAT-NA and the ARRL. On November 11 at the Board of Directors meeting in Tucson, the AMSAT-NA Board unanimously approved the Memorandum of Understanding. Once a final copy is generated, the AMSAT-NA President (Bill Tynan) has been given authority by the board to sign the MOU. This Memorandum, once signed, will solidify amateur radio's permanent presence in crew-tended space activities. On behalf of AMSAT-NA, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, the V.P. for Manned Space, wishes to extend his heartiest of congratulations to the ARISS international team for a job well done! We look forward to a truly cooperative international venture on the International Space Station. [Submitted by Frank H. Bauer, KA3HDO, AMSAT V.P. for Manned Space Programs.] /EX