The ARRL Letter from the The American Radio Relay League reports that ARISS chair begs patience regarding RS0ISS packet system.....The chairman of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station international team, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, is asking hams to be patient regarding resumption of the ISS packet operation.

"Over the past few weeks the ARISS team has received numerous queries as to when the packet system will be turned back on," Bauer said. "We want to thank you all for your concern in getting this important capability up and running again."

Bauer said ARISS has been working with NASA and Russian space officials to get the system operational again, but that the ISS crew has other priorities--especially in the wake of the Columbia tragedy. Bauer said that given the busy crew schedule, amateurs should not be surprised if the RS0ISS packet system is off the air for a bit longer. Once it's operational, he advised amateurs not to post messages to the crew since the crew has not had the opportunity to read the mail.