On November 28, 1983 the first amateur radio (Ham) went into space with astronaut Owen Garriott. Garriott was able to connect with his mother on the radio as well as senator Barry Goldwater and many others. Through all Garriott’s uses of Ham radio he was able to make 300 calls and convinced NASA that Ham radio was very useful in space and that amateur radio should be continued. Because of this, Space Amateur Radio Experiment began, also known as SAREX. A big goal of this program was to connect students with astronauts in space through a radio conversation. ^[1]

The second successful use of Ham radio in space was carried out by Tony England in 1985. He ended up with 130 contacts and 10 images in Slow Scan Television. In 1991, the first voyage to space occurred where the entire crew were licensed amateur radio operators. This was aboard the Atlantis flight STS-37. ^[2]

Garriott, whose Ham call number W5LFL, took a two meter handheld radio on board Columbia flight STS-9. He had scheduled times that he would talk to groups on earth, but he was also able to speak with the Amateur Radio Club in his hometown of Enid, Oklahoma, his mother, Senator Goldwater, and even King Hussein of Jordan, an avid amateur radio operator.^[3]

The second amateur radio operator in space was Anthony W. “Tony” England, WØORE, aboard shuttle Challenger flight STS-51F. Along with voice capabilities, England brought along amateur radio television gear in order to transmit pictures from the shuttle to Earth. In 1991 every astronaut of the five-person team aboard Atlantis flight STS-37 was a licensed amateur radio operator.^[4]

After these flights, amateur radios were often taken on the shuttles, as many as twenty-five before the program became known as ARISS. Licensed hams were able to participate during their free time.^[5] SAREX is sponsored by NASA, AMSAT (The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation), and the ARRL (American Radio Relay League).^[6]

Shuttles that Participated and Licensed Astronauts

Most amateur radio operators use SAREX to speak with licensed astronauts during their down times. SAREX, however, has been very educational for young students from kindergarten to fifth grade involved in a program similar to young astronauts, in which elementary school children learn about astronauts' daily activities and what it is like in space. Students also have had the opportunity to communicate via video when the shuttles have had suitable equipment. Teachers have found out about how to link their classes with the SAREX program through the Amateur Radio in Space Guide distributed by NASA.^[7]

An amateur operator license is needed before operating an amateur station.^[8] The license can be obtained from the Federal Communications Commission's Amateur Radio Service.^[9] No special SAREX license is required for operation, but the unusual circumstances surrounding space operations of amateur radio had requiredspecial attention to be paid to the following regulations:^[10]

1. Retransmissions

• "No amateur station, except an auxiliary, repeater, or space station may automatically retransmit the radio signals of other amateur stations". Paragraph 97.113 (f)
• Cannot retransmit automatically unless the regulations governing auxiliary and repeater stations are followed

2. Auxiliary & Repeater Stations

• Paragraph 97.201: Auxiliary stations, or those defined by the FCC as amateur stations transmitting communications point to point within a system of cooperating amateur stations (see paragraph 97.3), must be licensed and controlled by a technician or higher class licensee. Authorization of amateur frequencies for auxiliary stations include 220 MHz and higher, except 431-433 MHz and 435-438 MHz.
• Repeater station rules are found in Paragraph 97.205 and state repeater’s input may be restricted to certain users.

3. Control Operators

• A control operator is required to be present for transmissions, in which all operations is limited to the control operator’s privileges, according to FCC Rules 97.7, 97.105, and 97.109. The operator and station licensee are also legally responsible for all operations.
• Control operator must hold Technician class license or higher.
• Station licensee must also hold Technician class license or higher.

4. Third Party Traffic

• Station must manually be controlled when third-party traffic, or unlicensed students communicate with licensed members, according to paragraphs 97.115 and 97.109.
• Control operator must be continually monitoring and supervising communication
• If crew member is licensed by foreign government, a third-party agreement must occur between foreign country and United States.
• AMSAT and ARRL handle agreements

5. RF Power Levels

• FCC Rule 97.313(a) states: "An amateur station must use the minimum power necessary to carry out the desired communications".
• 45-150 watts are successful for SAREX contacts (for a 12 element crossed Yagi antenna (24 total elements)
• 1.5 kW is not needed

6. Space Station

• In Part 97, a space station is defined by the FCC as “an amateur station located more than 50 kilometers above the Earth's surface.”
• Old rules written said only an extra class operator could establish a space station
• Those rules do not apply today because they were written to cover orbiting, unmanned satellites and most astronaut-hams do not hold extra class licenses
• FCC lifted restriction, allowing anyone to establish a space station under the operator license held by the control operator
• All astronaut-hams must have a technician class license or higher

7. Commercial Use

• In media requests to ask a question of the astronauts, the answer is NO.

1. The news media has their own established channel to ask a crew questions—NASA Public Affairs at the Johnson Space Center
2. News media collects information for commercial interests, which would violate the FCC Part 97 regulations prohibiting the use of amateur radio to facilitate a commercial activity or interest

• It is a violation of Part 97 to mention a radio dealer or supplier, which provided you with equipment or services, on the air.
• If you mention equipment, state Brand X and number Y radio to avoid advertising
• Any press media must act only as observers so ham radio is not facilitating commercial activity
• It is advised that the SAREX Lead, Technical Lead, Station Licensee, and Control Operator review the FCC Part 97 rules for applicability, prior to the design and operation of the radio system for the SAREX contact.^[11]