25 Years of Amateur Radio in Space

Astronaut Own Garriott, W5LFL, during STS-9 training with ham radio.
[Image courtesy of NASA]

Twenty-five years ago this week, Owen Garriott, W5LFL, made history by being the first Amateur Radio operator to talk to hams from space. His historic flight on STS-9 on board the Space Shuttle Columbia was launched on November 28 and landed on December 8, 1983.

Garriott's ham radio adventure on that mission ushered in a host of what Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, called "outstanding outreach activities that continue today with the ARISS program."


Radio Hams celebrate Space Station contact