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Expedition 4 Crew Wraps Up Successful String of ARISS School QSOs

US astronaut Dan Bursch, KC5PNU. Bursch has been an active member of the first all-ham Expedition 4 crew that also includes Yury Onufrienko, RK3DUO, and Carl Walz, KC5TIE. [NASA Photo]

NEWINGTON, CT, May 14, 2002--Astronaut Dan Bursch, KD5PNU, has completed the last QSO in a string of largely successful Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) school contacts by Expedition 4 crew members. Taking the controls of NA1SS on May 14, Bursch answered questions posed by 15 students from the Bordertown School in Bordertown, Australia.

Bursch was able to answer all of the students questions. Near the end of the contact, he told the students to make the most of their education in order to achieve their dreams and goals.

Hundreds of excited students and parents gave Bursch a huge cheer as the ISS went over the horizon and contact ended. The event was covered on Australian radio and TV in prime time--at 8:30 PM local time in Bordertown.

Tony Hutchison, VK5ZAI, in South Australia was the school mentor and the master of ceremonies for the event, which was made possible via a teleconferencing circuit with Gerald Klatzko, ZS6BTD, in South Africa.

ARISS School Contacts Coordinator Tim Bosma, W6ISS, took advantage of the occasion of the last Expedition 4 school contact to thank all involved for helping to make it a success.

Cosmonaut Valeri Korzun (left), Expedition 5 mission commander Peggy Whitson, KC5ZTD, and cosmonaut Sergei Treschev are shown here prior to a training session in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory near the Johnson Space Center in Texas. [NASA Photo]

"I want to thank everyone involved; the folks at NASA who support this program; the volunteer mentors who prepare the students and the schools; the telebridge station operators who frequently have to get up in the middle of the night to make these contacts; and the organizations--WorldCom, AMSAT and the ARRL," Bosma said.

"Your support for this educational program makes it possible for students to talk to the astronauts and get excited about careers in science. This is a once in a lifetime experience for the students, teachers and the parents, and it does make a difference."

ARISS school contacts are expected to resume in late June when the Expedition 5 crew of mission commander and US astronaut Peggy Whitson, KC5ZTD, and Russian cosmonauts Valeri Korzun and Sergei Treschev settles in aboard the ISS.--Tim Bosma, W6ISS/ARISS

Previous: ARRL Asks FCC to Pull 2390-2400 MHz Out of Play as "Replacement Spectrum"

Next: Past ARRL President Robert W. Denniston, W0DX/VP2VI, SK