Amatuer Radio Enthusiast Calls Space Station From His Shed In England And Gets A Response

How freakin' cool is that?!

An amateur radio enthusiast managed to get a quick chat with the International Space Station (ISS) after a month of trying to get through from his shed.

Adrian Lane, of Gloucestershire, sent out a call signal to the ISS and was "stunned" when he received a reply.

He said: "They came back to me and said, 'Receiving you - welcome aboard the International Space Station'."

Mr Lane, from Coleford, and a US astronaut chatted for about 45 seconds before the station went out of range.

He had been trying to "catch the ISS on a pass" when he finally got through at the end of a four-minute "contact window".
'Over so quickly'

"It was a very hectic time on the bands, people were trying hard to get through," he said.

"So, I just sat back and waited until the main stream calling had died down a little bit and gave them a call and they came back to me."

With the "adrenaline pumping", Mr Lane said he had to think of a response fast because "these guys are moving away from you all the time".

"I asked him what the stars looked like from up there and he came back to me and said with no atmosphere up here the stars are really bright," he said.

"But he told me when you look down on earth it's something else - it's just a mass of colour where everything else up here is black."

Although Mr Lane said he had been "really chuffed", he said it was "a shame it was over so quickly".

"It's quite an achievement, especially when you consider he's flying over the top of me at 17,500 mph," he said.

"I don't know if I'll ever do it again but will still be trying."
Article courtesy of the BBC.

Just one more stellar example of why the media in this country sucks donkey balls.