Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Six Hams Aboard Space Station


One American and two Russian amateurs have arrived at the International Space Station, joining a crew of three ham-astronauts/cosmonauts already aboard the orbiting outpost. Astronaut Joseph Acaba, KE5ADR, and cosmonauts Gennady Padalka, RN3DT, and Sergei Revin, RN3BS, are the latest crew members to arrive at the station. They were preparing for the arrival of the Dragon cargo ship launched by SpaceX, the first commercial launch to the station. The Dragon was to deliver food, clothing and 15 experiments from the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program, among other supplies. It was to reloaded with trash and material that was no longer needed aboard the station and sent back to Earth for a planned parachute descent into the Pacific Ocean.