Work amateur satellites
Use FM, SSB/CW or digital transponders to make contacts through orbiting spacecraft. A modest station can be enough for some low-Earth-orbit satellites.
Satellites & Space
Your next repeater might be moving at orbital speed.
Amateur Radio reaches far beyond towers and mountaintops. Hams work through satellites, receive spacecraft telemetry and images, support astronaut contacts aboard the International Space Station, and even bounce signals off the Moon.
Yes, a Technician can get involved with space.
Many amateur satellites operate on VHF and UHF, which makes satellite work especially attractive to Technician-class operators. Some satellites act like repeaters in orbit: you transmit on one frequency and listen on another while the spacecraft is above your horizon.
A pass may last only a few minutes. The satellite is moving quickly, your usable window is changing second by second, and Doppler shift can move the received frequency. That turns a simple contact into a compact lesson in orbital mechanics, antennas, radio technique and physics.
What you can do
Space radio is more than one thing.
Track passes
Prediction software tells you when a satellite rises, how high it will get, where to point and when it sets. Your “repeater” is moving across the sky.
Receive telemetry
Spacecraft may send engineering data or experiment results that ground stations can decode. Listening can be a useful first step before transmitting.
Follow the ISS
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) supports educational contacts and amateur-radio activity aboard the station. Crew schedules and operating opportunities vary.
Receive ISS SSTV
During special events, the ISS has transmitted slow-scan television images that ordinary ground stations can receive and decode as the station passes overhead.
Talk with astronauts
ARISS arranges scheduled school and youth contacts with crew members. Amateur operators may also hear crew activity when astronauts are operating the station’s ham equipment, but casual contacts are never guaranteed.
Compensate for Doppler
Because the spacecraft is moving rapidly toward and then away from you, the apparent frequency changes during a pass. Correcting for that shift is part of satellite operating.
Try EME / moonbounce
At the advanced end, stations with suitable antennas, power, low-noise receiving systems and weak-signal techniques can use the Moon itself as a passive reflector.
A realistic beginner path
You can start by receiving.
- Pick an active satellite or ISS event. Use a current tracking source; satellites and schedules change.
- Find the downlink frequency. Receiving does not require you to transmit.
- Track the pass. Know when it rises, its maximum elevation and when it sets.
- Use a suitable antenna. A handheld antenna may hear strong passes; directional antennas can make the job much easier.
- Listen for Doppler. Watch how the frequency shifts as the spacecraft approaches and recedes.
- Transmit only when licensed and ready. Satellite operating requires good timing and courtesy because many people may share a short pass.
Where to go for current information
Space activity changes, so use current sources.
ARISSAmateur Radio on the International Space Station: crew contacts, educational programs and ISS amateur-radio activity.AMSATAmateur satellites, operating information, spacecraft projects and getting-started material.AMSAT operating hintsPractical information for new and experienced satellite operators.