Ham Named to Order of Australia for ARISS Work

A longtime volunteer in the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program has

Member of the Order
of Australia medal
(Australian govt image)

been honored by Australia's government. Tony Hutchison, VK5AI, was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for "significant service to amateur radio, particularly to satellite and space communication." 

The ARRL Letter reports that Hutchison is one of ten ARISS "telebridge" stations, relaying radio transmissions to and from the space station via a teleconference for school contacts when the station's "footprint" does not take it over the scheduled contact location. Hutchison's involvement with amateur radio on manned spacecraft goes back to the Russian Mir space station, for which he enabled the first Mir school contact in 1993 for Australian astronaut Andy Thomas, VK5JAT/VK5MIR.