01/06/2023

Three of the four new astronauts on February's planned launch of the SpaceX Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) are amateur radio operators.

The four crew members that comprise the SpaceX Crew-6 mission pose for a photo during a training session on the crew access arm at the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A in Florida. From left are, Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev, Pilot Warren "Woody" Hoburg, Mission Specialist Sultan Al Nedayi, and Commander Stephen Bowen. Photo Courtesy of SpaceX.

Pilot Warren "Woody" Hoburg, KB3HTZ; Commander Stephen Bowen, KI5BKB, and Mission Specialist Sultan Al Neyadi, KI5VTV, will join Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev on board the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, Endeavour.

The spacecraft will be atop a Falcon 9 rocket and, while a launch date has not been selected, the earliest date would be mid-February 2023.

All crew members have learned about Amateur Radio on the International Space Station[1] (ARISS), received guidance on studying and testing, and learned how to operate the ARISS radios and the basics of on-the-air protocol from ARISS team members at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

The crew will be able to participate in ARISS, using the ham radio station on the ISS to contact schools and other educational institutions.

ARISS is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the ISS. In the US, participating organizations include NASA, the ISS National Lab, ARRL[2] The National Association for Amateur Radio¿, and AMSAT.


[1] https://www.ariss.org/
[2] http://www.arrl.org/amateur-radio-on-the-international-space-station

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