The ARRL Letter from The American Radio Relay League reports that International Space Station Expedition 6 Crew Commander Ken Bowersox, KD5JBP, deftly managed 30 questions put to him this week during a 10-minute Amateur Radio contact with 15 New Jersey students.

The number of
questions answered could be a record for a school group contact. The April
14 QSO with youngsters at Lounsberry Hollow Middle School
in Vernon was arranged by the Amateur Radio on
the International Space Station (ARISS) program. Bowersox--who's known as
"Sox" within NASA's Astronaut Corps--answered the obviously well-rehearsed
students' questions as quickly as they asked them.

Questions ranged from the usual, "What is your favorite space food?" to
the more arcane, "What did you learn from your favorite experiment?"
Another asked, "Do you have a telescope or binoculars on the ISS?" while a
third asked how carbon dioxide was removed from the air inside the ISS.

Control operator John Santillo, N2HMM, reports that teachers at the
northwestern New Jersey school were ecstatic about the smooth and speedy
banter between Bowersox and the students. Reporters from a New York City
TV station (WNBC-TV, channel 4), a local cable channel and two newspapers
covered the event.

ARISS is an international project, with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT
and NASA.

In related news, a Russian Soyuz vehicle will transport a new two-person
crew--Yuri Malenchenko, RK3DUP, and Ed Lu, KC5WKJ, to the International
Space Station April 25. Bowersox and his Expedition 6 crewmates, Don
Pettit, KD5MDT, and Nikolai Budarin, RV3FB, are scheduled to leave the ISS
aboard the Soyuz transporter in early May.

NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe told a congressional panel this week that
the nation's shuttle fleet could return to flight before the end of the
year. The space agency head thinks the independent investigation board
looking into the shuttle Columbia disaster is just weeks away from
recommending hardware and procedural improvements necessary to make the
remaining three space shuttles safe to fly.--Gene Chapline, K5YFL/ARISS;
AMSAT News Service; NASA