The Novice license is made renewable. The ARRL, IARU and other groups have been preparing for years. Packet is starting to grow. Owen Garriott, W5LFL, becomes the first amateur to operate on board a Space Shuttle. He makes hundreds of QSO's on 2 meters.
Amateurs are overwhelmingly opposed, and the proposal is dropped.
The FCC stopped giving examinations, turning the duty over to the new Volunteer Examiner Program. The HF phone bands are expanded. The amateur population is up to 410,000. Novices also get phone operation on portions of 220 and 1296 MHz. Technicians who passed their exam prior to March 1987 get permanent credit towards the General written exam.