Many of the methods used to build and repair equipment on Earth must now be adapted for space. International Space Station crews have tools for making small repairs, but little research has been conducted on the best ways to manufacture and repair equipment in space.

10 December 2003
Last year, when NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe visited the bus-sized cylindrical ATV spacecraft model during crucial tests at ESA's test facilities in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, one of his main questions was to know how big the European cargo ship was compared to the Apollo spaceship used to reach the Moon in the 1960s and 70s.

The ARRL Letter and The American Radio Relay League report that Astronaut Mike Foale, KB5UAC, fired up the new Phase 2 Amateur Radio on
the International Space Station (ARISS) equipment December 21 to make a
number of 2-meter contacts with amateurs around the world. The Expedition
8 commander completed QSOs with amateurs in Australia, Europe and North
America from 1100 to approximately 1700 UTC.