Friday, August 8, 2014

Names in the News:

DXCC Manager Seriously Injured; Two 'Radio-Active' NASA Astronauts Retire; WA1ZMS Receives Brendan Medal

Bill Moore, NC1L
(Courtesy of ARRL)
ARRL DXCC and Awards Manager Bill Moore, NC1L, was seriously injured in an automobile accident on July 3.
The ARRL Letter reports that Moore suffered a broken neck and other injuries and is paralyzed from the chest down.
It says he is stable and recuperating at a rehabilitation facility but it is not known whether he will make a full recovery.
Cards and get-well wishes are encouraged, and may be sent to Bill at 92 Reservoir Rd., Newington, CT 06111.
DXCC and award questions should be directed to one of the e-mail addresses on the DXCC contacts web page.
NASA Astronauts Andy Thomas, VK5MIR/ex-KD5CHF, and Dave Leestma, K5WQC, have retired from the agency, according to the ARRL Letter. Thomas has been an astronaut since 1993, flew on three shuttle missions and spent time on both the Mir space station and its successor, the International Space Station. He was active on ham radio during both of his space station stays. Leestma has been an astronaut since 1980, flew on three shuttle missions and most recently was NASA's Director of Flight Crew Operations. In 1992, he completed the Worked All Continents award from orbit.
Brian Justin, WA1ZMS
(Internet screen grab <http://bit.ly/V4FJuD>)
Brian Justin, WA1ZMS, of Forest, Virginia, has been awarded the first triennial Brendan Medal by the Irish Radio Transmitters Society, in recognition of his contributions to promoting propagation studies on possible transatlantic contacts on 2 meters.
The IRTS has long offered a trophy for making the first two-way transatlantic contact on 144 MHz.
That goal has not yet been achieved, although one-way reception of transatlantic signals was confirmed this summer.