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 Previous: Massive CubeSat Launch Fails |  Next: First ARRL Online Auction Planned for October |
 Chuck Brady, N4BQW, in his official NASA Astronaut Corps portrait. [NASA Photo] |
NEWINGTON, CT, Jul 27, 2006--Retired space shuttle astronaut and DXer Chuck Brady, N4BQW, of Oak Harbor, Washington, died July 23 following a lengthy illness. He was 54. During his years as an active astronaut in the 1990s, Brady was among the pioneers of SAREX (Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment). An ARRL member, he was active on ham radio during the 16-day STS-78 shuttle mission in 1996, then the longest ever. In 1997 he became NASA's chief for space station astronaut training. ARRL Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program liaison Rosalie White, K1STO, says Brady was a radio amateur long before he took part in SAREX.
"During his shuttle flight, he spent more hours on the ham airwaves than probably he should have, much to the pleasure of hams worldwide," she said. "He joked that he'd rather make ham radio contacts than take part in the shuttle's scheduled daily medical tests, such as providing saliva samples."
Among those accompanying Brady on his 1996 shuttle flight were astronauts Susan Helms, KC7NHZ, and Bob Thirsk, VA3CSA.
Following his career as an active astronaut, Brady went on
to take part in several popular DXpeditions, including a surprise visit to Bouvet Island. He also carried Amateur Radio gear along on several scientific research
visits to the South Pacific.
Avid DXpeditioner
 Brady communes with the wildlife during the 2000 3Y0C DXpedition to Bouvet Island. [Courtesy of Bernie McClenny, W3UR] |
 Standing next to an antenna support structure, Brady and a local seal brave the elements on Bouvet. [Courtesy of Bernie McClenny, W3UR] |
According to The Daily DX and QST "How's DX?" Editor Bernie McClenny, W3UR, Brady activated some of the rarer American Pacific islands including Kure Island, Palmyra and Jarvis Island, Midway Island, Wake Island, Baker and Howland Island and Kingman Reef.
"Probably Chuck's most notable operation was that of 3Y0C from Bouvet Island," McClenny recounts. "This one was kept totally secret until he showed up on the air in January 2001. Later that year Chuck was the dinner speaker at the Dayton DX Dinner."
McClenny said he got to meet Brady on that occasion, "The thing that stuck me most about him was that he was just as down to Earth and a real humble guy," McClenny said. "He was very personable, and we quickly became friends."
Several years later, McClenny recalls, Brady called him in a pileup while McClenny was on a DXpedition (AH3D) to Johnston Island, one of the many places from which Brady himself had operated. During that February 2003 QSO, McClenny said, he first learned -- from Brady -- about the tragic loss of the shuttle Columbia -- the same orbiter Brady had been aboard for his 1996 mission.
"Chuck will surely be missed by his many friends around the world, and many will remember him as a kind a loving human being," McClenny said.
Navy Flight Surgeon
A physician, Brady held the rank of captain in the US Navy. A native of North Carolina (he considered Robbins, where he graduated from high school, his hometown), he packed a lot of activities into his all-too-short lifetime. In addition to ham radio, he enjoyed canoeing, kayaking, tennis, and cycling.
Brady graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1971 and from Duke University Medical School in 1975. Following an internship, he served as team physician in sports medicine at Iowa State University, the University of North Carolina and East Carolina University.
He received his training as a flight surgeon after joining the US Navy in 1986, and he was flight surgeon for the Blue Angels Navy flight demonstration squadron from 1989 until 1990. In 1992, NASA selected Brady as an astronaut candidate, and he qualified as a mission specialist for shuttle flights, ultimately logging more than 405 hours in space.
Minor Planet (7691) Brady
In 1998, Brady a minor planet (asteroid) was named in his honor. The chunk of space rock, now officially minor planet (7691) Brady, was discovered in 1977 by C. J. van Houten and I. van Houten-Groeneveld of the Netherlands. The job of selecting an honoree, however, fell to Lutz Schmadel, DK8UH, an astronomer and friend of Brady's who had contacted him during Brady's 1997 DXpedition to Kingman Reef and Palmyra Island.
"Unfortunately, radio operators are extremely underrepresented [as astral honorees]," Schmadel said at the time.
Saw into the Future of Ham Radio and Space
While aboard STS-78, Brady was asked during a ham radio contact to comment on the importance of SAREX to his current mission and to future International Space Station missions. Brady called SAREX "tremendously important," explaining that "the longer the stay [in space], the more important it is to have that kind of personal contact back to Earth, and it's something I think will play a real important role in helping morale, and keeping the psychological adjustment steady aboard station."
White notes that compared to today's long-term missions aboard the ISS, shuttle missions such as Brady's were quite short. "But he saw into the future," she said, "and he predicted that Amateur Radio would be a very important means for astronauts to feel as though they were in touch with the world while staying on-orbit for months on end -- and so it is."
Survivors include Brady's fiancé Susan, their four-year-old
son Charlie, and a sister. A military service is planned.
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