Final Farewell

The Amateur Radio Community Joins in Mourning Loss of Columbia Astronauts

The flags of the United States, the ARRL and the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) fly at half staff today at ARRL Headquarters as the Amateur Radio community has joined the rest of the world in mourning the loss of the seven shuttle Columbia astronauts. Through the Space Amateur Radio EXperiment (SAREX) and--more recently--the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) programs, amateurs have enjoyed a special relationship with the astronaut corps, many of whom are licensees. The ARISS program is a joint effort of AMSAT, ARRL and NASA.

Via the ARRL