It also allows for communication with amateur radio operators on the ground.Ībove: Now that's a ham rig! ('Rig' is ham radio slang for an amateur radio operator's transceiver and antenna.) This photograph of the Space Shuttle Atlantis docked with the Russian Mir space stations was taken by Nikolai Budarin from a Russian Soyuz spacecraft on July 4, 1995. Students in hundreds of different classrooms across the country are able to ask the astronauts questions about space flight and the experiments being conducted on the mission. The Space Amateur Radio EXperiment (SAREX) is a long-running program to use amateur radio equipment on board the Space Shuttle to involve students in exchanging questions and answers with astronauts in orbit. 'There is now a program called SAREX that is allowing for more and more activity.' 'There has been substantial amateur radio activity in space since I first brought one up,' Garriott said. Since that first voyage into space, NASA has continued to see the usefulness of bringing ham radios into space, and astronauts have been able to speak to hams on earth on dozens of shuttle flights, as well as on the space station MIR. 'Among others, I was able to speak with the Amateur Radio Club in my hometown of Enid, Oklahoma, with my mom, with Senator Goldwater, and with King Hussein, who was an avid ham.' 'I had specified particular times and frequencies beforehand,' Garriott said. In addition to the general calls, Garriott had made a few plans to send out a call to specific Earth-bound hams at prearranged times and dates. The transceiver then connected to the antenna.' It was about 24 inches in diameter and looked somewhat like a large aluminum cake pan. 'I used a well-designed, hand-held antenna, known as a 'cavity antenna', which could be velcroed to the window. 'When in orbit over land, I could make a CQ, which is a general call, and see who responded,' Garriott said. He is holding a Motorola two meter FM ham radio. Ultimately, though, he persisted and was able to obtain permission to fly a small hand-held transmitter/receiver aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia.

Garriott had originally proposed the idea of taking a ham radio into space on his first space mission, Skylab 3, but was unable to due to timing and other complications. Now, the Space Shuttle frequently carries amateur radio equipment into space where astronauts communicate with students on Earth below. This contact was the first communication between astronauts and people on the ground outside of 'official' channels, which are usually reserved for presidents and heads of state.Ībove: Owen Garriott pioneered the use of ham radio from Earth orbit during his 'spare time' on shuttle flight STS-9.

'In my spare time only, I managed to hold up an antenna to the window and to talk to amateurs on Earth.' 'It was my good fortune to take the first amateur radio into space on STS-9 in November 1983,' Garriott said. Garriott, who has been an amateur radio operator for over 40 years, was the first astronaut to take a ham radio into space, pioneering the way for an increasingly well developed amateur radio space program. Garriott, call sign W5LFL, the thrill comes from receiving a response from 'hams' down on Earth. flight STS-51 was many years after STS-51-A.Īs of 2004, the last flight was STS-107, the 113th, including the one which consisted of a disastrous ascent only.Aug- For most amateur radio operators, it is the thrill of a lifetime to receive a 'CQ', or general call, from an astronaut in space. The letter indicates that the intermediate numbering system applies, and e.g. After the Challenger disaster, a sequential numbering system was restored, with the number according to counting from the beginning, although, unlike the initial system, the assignment of numbers is based on the initial schedule and may not reflect launch order. These codes were assigned when the launches were initially scheduled and were not changed as missions were delayed or rescheduled. Beginning in 1984, each mission was assigned a code, such as STS-41-B, with the first digit indicating the last digit of the federal fiscal year, the second digit indicating the launch site (1 was Kennedy Space Center and 2 was Vandenberg Air Force Base, although Vandenberg was never used), and the letter indicating scheduling sequence. Initially, the launches were given sequential numbers indicating order of launch, such as STS-9. Specific shuttle missions are therefore designated with the prefix STS. The shuttle is officially referred to in NASA jargon as the Space Transportation System (STS). ) has flown manned shuttle missions, in the Space Shuttle program, while the Soviet Union ( Missing image As of 2004, only the United States ( Missing image

This is a list of human spaceflight missions flown by space shuttles.

Nasa space shuttle names list