Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, this month told youngsters in Ohio and North Carolina that he's been really been enjoying his duty tour onboard the International Space Station. The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) arranged both contacts. During a March 1 QSO with students at Country Day School in suburban Cincinnati, Ohio, McArthur described his delight at being in space for his first long-term visit.

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Several radio amateurs in Hawaii are smiling this week after working ISS Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, March 5 at the helm of NA1SS in space. "We had perhaps 12 to 15 stations--maybe more--make contact during the 8-minute, 20-second pass," reports Ron Hashiro, AH6RH. "I can tell you that all those stations were super, super excited to work Bill--especially some of those who scored their first space contact since becoming a ham." Acting on a tip that NA1SS might be on the air for the early-morning pass, Hashiro and four others set up on the beach at Waikiki, and he was the first and the last station to work NA1SS. The pass was not particularly ideal, but Hashiro said the NA1SS signal was "clear as a bell" considering the 1100-mile distance involved, coupled with 3 kHz of Doppler shift. Hashiro convened a net about 10 minutes before the 1:08 AM pass and got six check-ins. Incoming (and former) ARRL Pacific Section Manager Bob Schneider, AH6J, was among those snagging a contact with NA1SS, as was Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) veteran Earth station op Dick Flagg, AH6NM. Hashiro told ARRL that for McArthur to show up on the pass and be able to share it with others "really meant a lot to them and to me." On the beach (L-R in photo): Hans Kashiwabara, KH7GN; David Cabatu, AH7E; Ann Miller, KH6W; Ernie Murphy, NH7L, and Hashiro.