Amateur Radio on the ISS
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| Astronaut Susan Helms KC7NHZ having a QSO |
The International Space Station is operational and permanently manned by
teams of astronauts and cosmonauts, most of whom have amateur licenses. Amateurs from the ISS partner countries, in the USA, Russia, Japan, Europe and Canada, have set up the ARISS program, a program who's mission is to foster amateur radio communications between the astronauts and cosmonauts who reside on the station. These include scheduling and assisting with school contacts, promoting field day and arranging other special events. Additionally the ARISS team works to help astronauts and cosmonauts who do not have amateur licenses become licensed before launch.
The first amateur radio equipment was carried to the ISS on Space Shuttle Atlantis in September 2000 and installed by the Expedition 1 crew. The first amateur contacts were made by Commander William Shepherd in mid November 2000, and the first school contact took place in December 2000.
ISS Information on the AMSAT website includes:
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Announcing the SuitSat Re-Entry Contest
The sky isn't falling, but SuitSat-1 is. SuitSat-1 was launched on February 3, 2006 at 23:03 UTC and as planned, it is slowly falling closer to the Earth each day. Over time, SuitSat-1 will pick up more drag from the Earth's upper atmosphere and heat will cause it to burn up and vaporize. Since SuitSat-1 doesn't contain any heat shields it is unlikely any part of SuitSat-1 will ever reach Earth's surface.
Visit the SuitSat Re-Entry contest page and enter today!
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ISS Amateur Radio Frequencies
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| Mode V APRS (Worldwide APRS Digipeater): Operational |
| Simplex: |
145.8250 MHz FM 1200 BPS |
| Downlink |
145.8250 MHz FM 1200 BPS |
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| Mode V/V Crew Contact (Region 1): Semi-Operational |
| Uplink: |
145.2000 MHz FM |
| Downlink |
145.8000 MHz FM |
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| Mode V/V Crew Contact (Regions 2 & 3): Semi-Operational |
| Uplink: |
144.4900 MHz FM |
| Downlink |
145.8000 MHz FM |
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| Mode U/V (B) FM Voice Repeater (Worldwide): Semi-Operational |
| Uplink: |
437.8000 MHz FM |
| Downlink |
145.8000 MHz FM |
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| Mode V Imaging: Semi-Operational |
| Downlink |
144.4900 MHz SSTV |
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| Mode V/V Packet (Worldwide): Semi-Operational |
| Uplink: |
145.9900 MHz AFSK 1200 BPS |
| Downlink |
145.8000 MHz AFSK 1200 BPS |
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Communicating with the ISS
To work ISS from your home, you should have at least the following Amateur Radio equipment. A 2-meter radio with an output rating of 5 watts or more. While it's possible to operate with an omni-directional antenna and even a whip, a small beam antenna similar to the Arrow antenna works much better and will increase your chances of success. If you plan to operate in packet mode a standard 1200 baud AX.25 TNC should be used and connected to a computer running APRS or other packet communications software.
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For more information about the International Space Station...
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