wasn't going to put anything in this issue of the sPARC gap, until the tragedy of the disintegration of the Space Shuttle Columbia hit at press time.  I had some previous association with that craft in early December, 1983, during the STS-9 mission.  That mission bore Dr. Owen Garriott, W5LFL, and was the first time that Amateur Radio was along for the ride, on 2 meter FM.

At the behest of Randy Stimson, KZ7T, who was then a PARC Board member (and was beginning to ascend the ARRL ladder toward SM, which he was for a while in the late 80s and early 90s), a group of us set up stations at the studios of KEX on S.W. Macadam, and we bombarded the shuttle with blind calls.  Nobody actually had a QSO with him from our group, but my call was one of 3 in Oregon to make it into Owen's log as a contact.  In fact, mine was the only one from within Portland, which frosted the likes of Stan Griffiths, W7NI, who was sitting next to me.

The shuttle crew included Mission Specialists Kalpana Chawla, KD5ESI; David M. Brown, KC5ZTC; and Laurel B. Clark, KC5ZSU.  Suffice it to say, that PARC joins virtually everyone else in extending our condolences to the families left behind.