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 Previous: In Brief | ![Next (later) Story](/images/sty-up.gif "The "Cage" is Back! W1AW Installs New/Old Antenna"){kind=small} Next: The "Cage" is Back! W1AW Installs New/Old Antenna |
NEWINGTON, CT, May 3, 2001--Having the time of his life aboard the International Space Station, US businessman Dennis Tito, KG6FZX, this week made his first Amateur Radio contacts--ever--from his perch in space. Tito arrived aboard the ISS on April 30.
The first "space tourist," Tito spoke May 1 via Amateur Radio with his family as the ISS was passing over Hawaii. The audio was telebridged to the mainland. On May 2, Farrell Winder, W8ZCF, in Cincinnati, reported snagging two contacts with the ISS--the second time chatting with Tito for several minutes. Tito used the NA1SS call sign for the contact.
"At first I didn't recognize his voice, and I asked, 'Is this Dennis?'," Winder said. "He replied right back and said, 'Yes, this is Dennis, and you are coming in loud and clear'."
Winder said Tito told him he loves space and was having a ball. "He said it is the greatest experience of his lifetime." The ISS was over Canada at the time of the QSO (1819 UTC), Winder said. He said Tito was eager to know what was being discussed about him on Earth. Winder said he replied that MSNBC and CNN were running video clips showing him boarding the ISS."
Earlier on Wednesday, Winder said, he spoke with US astronaut Susan Helms, KC7NHZ, during a 1504 UTC pass over Cincinnati. "She remarked that she had the day off and some free time for Amateur Radio," he said. During Tito's visit, the crew of Russian Commander Yury Usachev, RW3FU, and US astronauts Susan Helms, KC7NHZ, and Jim Voss, are undertaking a minimal work routine and maintenance schedule.
In a TV interview from space earlier this week, Tito said he was not nervous at all about the launch and didn't think his heart rate topped 100 during liftoff. He reports he did suffer some space sickness but has begun to get used to weightlessness. "It turns out, it's very comfortable," Tito said. "It is so spectacular, it is so rewarding," Tito said. "I'll tell you, there is nothing like this as an experience." He said the ISS crew has welcomed him and given him a tour of the spacecraft.
On May 1, Tito spoke with his family via ham radio. Interviewed on NBC's Today Show, Tito's son Mike, said he got to speak with his dad for about 10 minutes. "I asked him, 'How's space?'," Mike Tito said. "He's just thrilled. He said he's even sleeping better than he's ever slept."
Tito reportedly will pay Russia a total of some $20 million for the privilege of going into space. He and two Russian cosmonauts launched April 28 from Kazakhstan on a 10-day Soyuz vehicle taxi mission. NASA initially opposed Tito's visit, but Russia insisted. Last week, NASA relented and agreed to the arrangement under certain conditions.
A NASA task force recommended that Tito--a former Jet Propulsion Lab engineer--have an astronaut escort to visit the US sectors of the ISS and that he sleep in the Soyuz escape vehicle in case an emergency arises. He also reportedly has agreed to not hold NASA liable if he gets injured and to pay for anything he might break.
Tito, 60, took and passed the Technician exam earlier this month after a volunteer examination session was set up for him in Russia about a month ago.
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