Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Ham Station Dedicated at McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center

Courtesy W1RC
A fully-functional ham radio station has been installed as part of the hands-on exhibits at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord, New Hampshire. The station, KA1SKY, was a gift from NEAR-Fest (the New England Amateur Radio Festival) and will be operated by volunteers from the Contoocook Valley Radio Club. It is set up for both voice and Morse code operation on all bands from 160 meters into the microwaves, and is capable of making contacts via amateur satellites and potentially, with the International Space Station. The station was dedicated on February 14. The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center is named in memory of teacher-in-space Christa McAuliffe, who was killed in the explosion of the shuttle Challenger, and of America's first space traveler, Alan Shepard. Both were New Hampshire natives.