As I found the preceding answers, one additional historical question came up. Yes, it does. I had several questions. Again, after reading further through the ARRL FAQ, I found another answer to my question concerning a ham operator's ability to contact the space shuttle. It is the Amateur Radio community that has brought astronauts voices into schools.
Crew members make random contacts with earth-bound hams.
They make contacts during their breaks, pre-sleep time and before and after mealtime. In order to confirm my hypothesis, I went back and read over my material from the Internet. I therefore conclude that the ham radio equipment is the same, but I will keep an eye out for future verification. Keps provide the software with a spacecraft's orbital track, which the computer uses to calculate its location. Using a tracking program tells an observer when a spacecraft will appear above his or her horizon.