Dr. Garriott, who has been a ham for over 40 years, was the first astronaut ham operating in space. In my spare time only, I managed to hold up an antenna to the window and to talk to amateurs on Earth. Conversations between astronauts in space and people on the ground are normally only for business. But Dr. Garriott has made it possible for anyone around the world to talk to astronauts on the Space Shuttle. Since then, NASA has sent ham radios into space on dozens of Shuttle flights, and astronauts have spoken to hams around the world.
Students talk with orbiting astronauts about flying in space.
Other hams also get to join the fun. A lot of hams have big collections of QSL cards from around the world. Soon amateur radio will be a permanent part of the International Space Station. NASA saw how using an amateur radio would be a good thing for astronauts to do in their spare time on the space station. Since astronauts will be staying longer in space while on the Station, there will be more opportunities for ham radio contacts.