SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468
THE FOLLOWING IS FROM THE ARRL WEEKLY LETTER
==> IT'S KD5PLA IN FOR KD5PLB ON INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
NASA has given the go-ahead for the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis Friday, June 8. The STS-117 mission will carry US astronaut Clay Anderson, KD5PLA, to the International Space Station to succeed Suni Williams, KD5PLB, as ISS Expedition 15 Flight Engineer. Anderson will join Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin, RN3FI, and Flight Engineer Dr Oleg Kotov.
Williams will return to Earth aboard the Atlantis. She arrived on the ISS last December and has been among the most active ISS crew members on Amateur Radio. NASA originally planned the astro-swap for the STS-118 shuttle mission, now targeted for an August launch.
Atlantis Commander Rick Sturckow and his six crewmates will spend 11 days in space and take part in three spacewalks. Work planned for this mission will increase the ISS's power capability in preparation for the arrival of new science modules from the European and Japanese space agencies.
Joining Sturckow and Anderson on STS-117 will be Pilot Lee Archambault and mission specialists Patrick Forrester, Steven Swanson, John "Danny" Olivas and Jim Reilly.