Packet operations aboard the ISS have been nonoperational since well before the Columbia loss. The inability of the current crew or NASA to engineer a fix may be symptomatic of larger problems within the agency.

Of course, packet operations and voice contacts with amateur radio operators are not a high priority of the ISS or NASA (nor should they be), but the equipment used is rudimentary, the technology has been stable for decades, and the crew requirements for automatic operation are negligible. This begs the question of why the system is nonoperational.

The initial costs of transporting the equipment to the station have already been paid; we wonder why the small extra effort required to return it to operational status has not been made. Certainly the crew has extra time on their hands to make the effort. If an effort has been made (and failed) no amateurs have been told of the difficulty. All this leaves us with the impression that the ISS systems may go the way of the MIR (i.e., a gradual failure of systems until the entire entity becomes too costly to repair).

Radio amateurs would appreciate accurate information on the condition that is causing the "problem." Apparently the 2 meter transmitter and 440 receiver capability are intact; the ISS has made school voice contacts. Why is the packet system disabled? It is understandable why the crew might not wish to handle direct voice contacts with amateurs at present, but why has the automatic system been disabled? Is it the case that the system has just been "turned off?" I suspect this is not the case since it has been nonoperational since well before the Columbia disaster. Some clarification would be welcome.