Video: Irish hams contact with Columbia in 1983

Thanks to Seamus EI4KE who spotted this great video on YouTube. It shows a contact between EI0RTS, the Irish Radio Transmitters' Society headquarter station, and the Space Shuttle Columbia back in 1983. Of course, Columbia was destroyed in an accident in February 2003 so this video is all the more poignant.

Here is more information about the video from its YouTube description:

This historic amateur radio contact took place in late 1983 when the Irish Radio Transmitters' Society set up a special station in the RTE museum in Rathmines to attempt to contact Owen Garriott aboard the shuttle Columbia. Garriott had a hand-held two-metre transceiver aboard the shuttle and, when time allowed, he would call other amateur radio stations on the ground as the shuttle passed over. Unfortunately, in 2003 the Columbia disintegrated on re-entry to the earth's atmosphere, killing all seven crew aboard.

Some nice QSLs in via the bureau

I received my biggest delivery of QSL cards to date from the IRTS bureau yesterday, and included in the bundle of 221 cards were some very nice ones. Perhaps the most exciting one was from ET3AA, Ethiopia, for QSOs on 10 metres SSB and 40m CW.

But there were cards also from UN7IZ in Kazakhstan (10m CW), OJ0B in Market Reef for six QSOs including top band and 80m, ED9M in Ceuta (40m CW), YB0MWM in Indonesia for 12m SSB, and MU0FAL in Guernsey for 80m and 12m CW.

Now all I have to do is process all the cards and write the returns !