ARLA/CLUSTER: 31st Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Meeting

[João Costa > CT1FBF]

The 31st Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Meeting occurred this
past weekend, November 1-3, 2013 at the Houston Marriott South at
Hobby Airport.

Further details about the Symposium may be found on AMSAT website
(www.amsat.org), and AMSAT's Facebook page. The special tour of
Johnson Space Center scheduled for Monday, 4 NOV is booked and
reservations are closed.

Attendees from all over ther the world were present, making this year's
Symposium a truely international event. Global representation from
South Africa, Ireland, Brazil, Britian, Cuba, Canada, United States, and
the Republic of Tejas. There were also approximately 18 memebers who
joined in over Echolink for the Annual Meeting.

The 30th anniversary of amateur radio involvement in human space flight
and the evolution of amateur radio into a successful program on board
the International Space Station, in which ARISS (Amateur Radio on the
ISS) is an international program that supports educational outreach as
well as provides an opportunity for informal contacts between
astronauts/cosmonauts and amateur radio operators around the world
panel presentation was hosted by AMSAT's Frank Bauer, KA3HDO and
included indepth discussions with retired NASA Astronaut's Owen
Garriott, W5LFL, & William "Bill" McArthur, KC5ACR, AMSAT's own Bill
Tynan, W3XO, & Lou McFadin, W5DID, and one of the intial ARISS
telebridge operators from Santa Rosa, W6SRJ, Tim Bosma, W6MU.


US astronaut Owen Garriott, W5LFL

Astronaut Owen Garriott, W5LFL on STS-9 in November 1983 was the first
astronaut
to utilize amateur radio to communicate with personnel on the ground,
allowing the general public to speak with US astronauts from space,
outside the communication channels of NASA's Mission Control.
This developed into 25 SAREX contacts from the Space Shuttle and
finally into the ARISS program known today.

A great history was shared from the first amauter radio contact from
space to current operations from ARISS platforms and how we got from
there to now.

Thanks to ANS, E.Mike McCardel, KC8YLD, and Joe Spier, K6WAO for the
above information