AMSAT-Switzerland Honours Historic Ham Satellite QSO

Satellite enthusiasts in Switzerland are inviting everyone to help pay tribute to a radio operator who was in the vanguard of making QSOs via those birds in the sky.

AMSAT-Switzerland proudly uses the callsign HB9RG as a way to honour Hans-Rudolf Lauber. Hans became a Silent Key in 2017 at the age of 92 but until then, the callsign belonged to this innovative Swiss amateur who completed the first amateur radio satellite QSO in March of 1965. The contact with Alfons Häring DL6EZA was completed via the OSCAR-Eleven satellite.

Hans-Rudolf will be honoured again by satellite enthusiasts in March, when AMSAT-HB hosts the Hans-Rudolf Lauber, HB9RG Memorial Trophy event.

In the spirit of this avid DXer, the trophy will recognise contacts made over significant distances during the two weeks between the 3rd and 16th March. Contacts must be made using only low-earth orbit, medium-earth orbit and high-earth orbit satellites