How to Communicate with Astronauts Aboard the ISS

Have you ever wanted to inquire an astronaut a question, oregon conscionable speech to 1 successful general? Wouldn't it beryllium chill if you could talk to an astronaut adjacent arsenic they were floating connected the ISS successful space, looking down connected Earth? It's not really hard to bash conscionable that. All you request is ham radio.

Amateur Radio connected the International Space Station Program

Believe it oregon not, a abstraction presumption arsenic precocious arsenic the ISS is inactive equipped with amateur vigor equipment. It has a dedicated programme for making interaction with the station, called the Amateur Radio connected the International Space Station (ARISS) Program. It's a cooperative planetary programme that includes amateur vigor organizations satellite wide, arsenic good arsenic official abstraction agencies similar NASA. Basically, it conscionable means that the ISS is acceptable and consenting to person vigor transmissions from you!

Of course, you volition request respective things successful bid to interaction the astronauts aboard the ISS.

To interaction the ISS utilizing ham radio, you'll request an antenna, transceiver, and a vigor license. Specifically, you'll request a VHF/UHF dual-band transceiver susceptible of sending oregon receiving transmissions connected some 2 metre and 70 centimeter bands. You technically don't request a circumstantial antenna, but you'll privation with with a wide country of coverage, similar an omni-directional basal antenna.

You'll besides request a licence allowing you to run a ham radio, which is managed by the Federal Communications Commission successful the United States. There are 3 licence classes, but adjacent the astir basal 1 volition let you legally pass with the ISS. An introspection is required to get a vigor relation license.

You'll whitethorn besides request to register for scheduled interaction opportunity successful beforehand of trying to marque interaction with the ISS via the authoritative ARISS website.

If you don't privation to get each of this instrumentality and the licence yourself, you tin ever look to articulation an amateur vigor club, which volition usually person everything you need. You tin besides commencement your ain club, though you'll inactive person to procure instrumentality and a licence successful that case.

How to Contact the ISS with Ham Radio

Once you person entree to the required licence and equipment, it's clip to effort and marque interaction with the ISS. To start, recognize that you're not guaranteed to get done to the astronauts up there, though it's not due to the fact that they don't privation to speech to you! The ISS orbits the Earth astatine astir 17,500 miles per hour, truthful your interaction model erstwhile it passes implicit your country is lone a fewer minutes long.

There whitethorn beryllium different ham vigor operators trying to interaction the ISS astatine the aforesaid clip arsenic you arsenic well, truthful you whitethorn beryllium competing for a changeable to talk. On apical of that, you conscionable mightiness get unlucky and not get a coagulated transmission during your model of opportunity. But don't interest excessively much—the ISS orbits the Earth astir each 90 minutes, and adjacent if you don't get the accidental to talk to them directly, you tin tune successful to conversations that different relation whitethorn beryllium having with the ISS.

Still, you astir apt privation the accidental to speech straight to the astronauts up determination connected the station. To bash that, determination are respective steps to follow, though carnivore successful caput that there's ne'er a warrant of making palmy contact. You whitethorn person to effort aggregate times successful bid to clasp a abbreviated speech with idiosyncratic aboard the ISS.

Determine When the ISS Will Pass Over Your Area

The vigor scope of the ISS is changing perpetually during its 90-minute orbit of the Earth. To marque contact, you request to cognize erstwhile it's going to walk implicit your country for the champion accidental of getting a transmission through. There are websites that track the ISS arsenic it orbits and foretell the areas it volition walk over, specified arsenic ARISS.org oregon Heavens-Above.com. Check these and usage them to estimation your model of accidental to marque contact.

Ensure You're Using the Right Frequency

If the ISS is going to walk implicit your area, you'll privation to crook connected your vigor instrumentality astir 15 minutes up of time. That way, you tin get everything situated and not devour into your model of accidental mounting things up. The ISS uses UHF and VHF amateur vigor bands, truthful you'll request to tune to the close frequence to interaction them. The astir communal frequencies are 145.800 MHz for dependable interaction and 437.800 MHz for packet vigor contacts.

If you're connected the close frequency, the adjacent happening to bash is conscionable hold and perceive for vigor signals. Because the ISS travels truthful quickly, its vigor awesome volition slice some successful and retired rather quickly. Because of this, the champion clip to marque interaction is erstwhile the presumption is arsenic adjacent to straight overhead arsenic possible. If an astronaut is transmitting from the ISS, they'll beryllium utilizing the telephone motion NA1SS. If you perceive that telephone sign, you person a changeable astatine speaking straight to idiosyncratic connected the station.

Send a Transmission

If you person a licence astatine this constituent oregon are portion of a vigor club, you volition astir decidedly cognize the due vigor etiquette erstwhile contacting the ISS. Regardless, if you perceive a transmission from an astronaut aboard the ISS, marque definite you hold for them to halt transmitting earlier sending your ain telephone motion and marque definite you usage the phonetic alphabet (Bravo for B, Whiskey for W, etc.)

Now, adjacent if your transmission is received, this doesn't needfully mean that the astronaut manning the vigor volition respond straight to you, though sometimes, they bash telephone for immoderate disposable presumption to interaction them. If you are invited to interaction them oregon they respond straight to you, beryllium definite to see your sanction and determination successful your transmission alongside immoderate other you privation to say. Your transmissions volition request to beryllium brief, mostly nether 10 seconds.

What Are You Allowed to Say to the Astronauts?

There's not truly a strict acceptable of rules connected what you are and aren't allowed to accidental to the astronauts onboard the ISS erstwhile you marque contact. But mostly speaking, the extremity is to beryllium polite and debar arguable oregon antagonistic topics. You astir apt won't beryllium talking to the astronaut for precise agelong if you spell retired of your mode to offend them, oregon if you effort to enactment them into immoderate hotly contested taxable they don't privation to speech about.

After all, the astronauts aboard the ISS are authorities employees, and notable ones astatine that. They're not going to speech astir thing that volition get them successful trouble. Instead, absorption connected lighthearted speech oregon asking questions astir their job, their regular routine, oregon adjacent what they are up to astatine the nonstop clip you've managed to interaction them. They'll astir apt beryllium much than blessed to speech astir those things.

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For an amateur vigor operator, making interaction with the ISS whitethorn beryllium 1 of the astir breathtaking things you tin do. With the close instrumentality and procedures, it's not adjacent that hard to bash either, requiring conscionable a spot of patience and luck. Get the close gear, fig retired erstwhile your adjacent model of accidental is coming, and commencement reasoning of the things you've ever wanted to inquire an astronaut!