MIR Space Station

Mir with the Earth below

M0MIR heard quite clear

On 2m band

(You may have to wait for the sound bite to load).

It was 1989 and I had not been licensed for long.  I tuned into the RSGB news, the date April 1st.  The news reader announced that Mir was using the 2m band to communicate with amateurs using the call U5MIR.

After the news, that evening at 20:10 GMT  I was tuning around the band when I heard a strong signal on 144.550……. U5MIR calling …..U5MIR

Calling.  I paused for a while, the date said to me that it was April fools day.    U5MIR calling, the radio called, by now gradually fading away.  I plucked up courage,   U5MIR this is G7BYN over.  No reply but it seemed that everyone was waiting for the first station to break the silence. Now there was one almighty pileup.

I waited for the next orbit but I didn't hear anything.  Not knowing anything about orbits it was possible that it's next orbit was over the Atlantic and not England.

It wasn't until 1997 that MIR was heard again, this time I had a computer and Satscan to follow and predict when and where to find it.