FROM 1-9. Falklands

Mar 18, 2005 - 1730hrs UTC │Port Stanley, Falklands - 1st talk with ISS

1730hrs 18 Mar 2005 UTC 51’41”S 057’49”W Map Ref 123
Alex: 16:59 – 17:25 GMT, Friday, March 18th

Well, says he, overdoing the understatement, we have just spent half an hour talking to Dr Leroy Chiao, Commander of the International Space Station.

A very low tech slow speed operation in the charge of a couple of grizzled and smelly veterans down here linked by similarities on the human scale to some very special technology moving a bit faster and to a couple of courageous people right at the forefront of their fields and of scientific research.

Probably one or the most interesting few minutes of my life. And, it seems, we will be able to try an experiment from the south atlantic using our gigazillion candela spotlight to find out whether Leroy and Salizhan can see us. Coool. We have exchanged some photos and there will be more. I owe Leroy some video of a big albatross in full endurance trim – hard to get but I’ll do my best. Thanks, Leroy, for your time and your interest.

And it was all made possible because Malcolm Robinson took the initiative and sent an email to NASA after my mid pacific musings about isolation and being closer to the ISS crew than any other humans. Thanks Mal and you’d better get your Inshore ticket after that one!.

No way to cap that, so I won’t try. More tomorrow, perhaps.

[ed: Links to info on the ISS and Leroy.]

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