Retired space shuttle astronaut and DXer Chuck Brady, N4BQW, of Oak Harbor, Washington, died July 23 following a lengthy illness. He was 54. During his years as an active astronaut in the 1990s, Brady was among the pioneers of SAREX (Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment). An ARRL member, he was active on ham radio during the 16-day STS-78 shuttle mission in 1996, then the longest ever. In 1997 he became NASA's chief for space station astronaut training. ARRL Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program liaison Rosalie White, K1STO, says Brady was a radio amateur long before he took part in SAREX.