Oct 3 2026

Astronaut to use Amateur Radio to Talk to UK Students

Wick High School ARISS Contact DetailsRescheduled Date: Students at Wick High School in Caithness will use amateur radio to ask astronaut Joshua Kutryk KJ5BFU questions about space.

The ARISS contact, using the call signs NA1SS on the International Space Station and GB4WHS at the school, will take place on Thursday, October 8, 2026, at 12:29 PM BST (11:29 GMT). You can listen in to the ISS downlink on 145.800 MHz (plus/minus 3 kHz Doppler shift) FM.

The event will be streamed live: https://live.ariss.org/

The space and ground teams will attempt to use the HamTV transmitter during this contact to send live Digital Amateur TV pictures of the astronaut on a frequency of 2395 MHz.

The HamTV downlink will be streamed: https://live.ariss.org/hamtv/

Questions (if the time of radio contact allows):
1. Which one thing do movies always get wrong about space?
2. What changed in your perspective on Earth after seeing it from outer space?
3. Why do you take the risk of going up into space?
4. What do you do if you have to go outside the ISS?

Young questioners with their practice cue cards at Wick High School

Young questioners with their practice cue cards – Credit: Wick High School

5. What do you find hard about living in the Space Station?
6. How does food taste in space compared to here on Earth?
7. How much do you use the phonetic alphabet in space?
8. What experiment were you most excited to work on?
9. Which part of your job, when you are in space, is your favourite?
10. How did you prepare your body and mind for going to space?
11. I dream of being an astronaut. What skills should I learn to become an astronaut?
12. I like to play games at home. Do astronauts play games in space?
13. Do astronauts get space sick like getting car sick?
14. Have you ever broke anything on ISS?
15. What other planets have you seen when up in space?
16. When you first went to space were you surprised by anything?
17. What do you do in your free time?
18. In what way is a spacesuit comfortable or uncomfortable?
19. How did you feel when you got chosen to go on the Space Station?
20. Can you get a power outage in space and what would happen?

Joshua Kutryk KJ5BFU - Credit: Canadian Space Agency

Joshua Kutryk KJ5BFU – Credit: Canadian Space Agency

In an article in the TES (Times Educational Supplement) magazine teacher Chris Aitken MM0WIC explained why he started an amateur radio club at Wick High School.
https://tes.com/magazine/teaching-learning/general/why-i-started-amateur-radio-club-my-school

Follow Wick High School Radio Club on X https://x.com/GM0WHS

Follow astronaut Joshua Kutryk KJ5BFU on X https://x.com/Astro_Kutryk

The ARISS program is aimed at students and enthusiasts and aims to inspire them in the study of sciences with this amateur radio activity. The demonstration of amateur radio communication from space invites schools and universities to make use of these educational technical resources. We invite radio amateurs and space enthusiasts to tune in to this exciting moment.

The latest information on the ARISS operation mode can be found at
https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html

How to hear the ISS https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/how-to-hear-the-iss/

You can use the AMSAT-UK/BATC WebSDR to listen to the contact on your mobile device https://vhf-goonhilly.batc.org.uk/

What is Amateur Radio? http://www.essexham.co.uk/what-is-amateur-radio

Free UK amateur radio Online Training course https://essexham.co.uk/train/foundation-online/

Sep 12 2026

October OSCAR News Now Available

E-members of AMSAT-UK can now download the October 2026 edition of OSCAR News, issue 246, here.

The paper edition edition will be sent to postal members and should arrive in the next 2-3 weeks.

In this issue:
• From the Secretary’s Keyboard
• RSGB Spectrum Forum Report – IARU Region 1 General Conference
• AMSAT-UK Accounts
• Building and demonstrating a CubeSat Simulator and Flat Sat Version for Education and Outreach
• Building a FUNcube-1 Ground Station
• AMSAT-UK Gala Dinner 2026
• LA4O voice-commands ESA spacecraft on 23 cm – first voice command of a satellite
• Building an Antenna Controller Interface
• So Long and thanks for all the Launches
• RADIANT: Amateur Radio’s Cislunar
Network
• World Space Week
• Getting Amateur and Academic Communities Involved in Space Standards
• A 70cm Pre-amplifier for mode V/U Satellite Reception
• HAMQ – iPhone application for satellite operators

AMSAT-UK FUNcube Mission Patch

AMSAT-UK FUNcube Mission Patch

Membership of AMSAT-UK is open to anyone who has an interest in amateur radio satellites or space activities, including the International Space Station (ISS).

E-members of AMSAT-UK are able to download the quarterly publication OSCAR News as a convenient PDF that can be read on laptops, tablets or smartphones anytime, anyplace, anywhere. Join as an E-member at Electronic (PDF) E-membership

PDF sample copy of “Oscar News” here.

Join AMSAT-UK using PayPal, Debit or Credit card at
http://shop.amsat-uk.org/

E-members can download their copies of OSCAR News here.

Sep 6 2026

YouTube: The Addictive World of Amateur Radio Satellites

The Online Amateur Radio Community (OARC) talk by John Stringer M5JFS titled ‘Chasing Birds: The Addictive World of Amateur Radio Satellites’ is now on YouTube.

“An introduction to the world of amateur radio satellite working. John will start with a brief potted history of how he got hooked on this aspect of the hobby, getting started with very modest and basic gear that he had to hand and how he later developed and improved his ‘station’ to where it is today as he grew in experience and interest. He’ll then cover the types of satellites that are out there, the gear you need (or don’t need) to work them, operating etiquette and best practices, useful software, tools and social networks, and finally he’ll tell us about a few notable moments and achievements that he’s had in his 6 years on the birds.”

The Online Amateur Radio Community (OARC) on Discord has a dedicated channel for discussions of Satellites, including Weather Satellites, a separate channel for QO-100 discussions and numerous channels covering a wide range of amateur radio interests.
You can join OARC via https://oarc.uk/join

OARC Wiki pages https://wiki.oarc.uk/directory

Follow John Stringer M5JFS on X: https://x.com/M5Jfs

Follow AMSAT-UK on X: https://x.com/AmsatUK

Aug 17 2026

Petition for Amateur Transponder on Bangladesh Satellite-2

Petition of Support for an Amateur Radio Transponder on Bangladesh Satellite-2 (BSCL)Matthias Bopp DD1US has passed on the following information from Hasibul Hasan Seyam S21HMX:

The Amateur Radio Society of Bangladesh (ARSB) is seeking support for its application to Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited (BSCL) for the allocation of a dedicated amateur radio transponder payload aboard Bangladesh Satellite-2.

Such a transponder would provide an important platform for amateur radio communication, technical education, international collaboration, and emergency/disaster communication.

By signing this petition, you express your support for this initiative and your interest in using the proposed transponder for legitimate, non-commercial amateur radio activities, including technical experimentation and emergency communications.

Your signature will be submitted to BSCL solely as evidence of amateur radio community support for this initiative.

International Petition of Support

Follow Matthias DD1US on X https://x.com/DD1US

Aug 3 2026

OSCAR News Editor Vacancy

2024-07 Oscar News Front CoverAMSAT-UK has been without a volunteer editor for Oscar News since mid-2024 and this has greatly hampered our ability to produce Oscar News on a regular basis – the last one produced was April 2025.

The original editor was responsible for sourcing all the material for Oscar News as well as typesetting the document and creating the pdf version for the website and for creating the printed edition. Without him, we have have not been able to produce OSCAR News on the schedule we would have liked too.

Several members of the committee have also not been in the best of health and those that remain are either heavily involved in designing and building FUNcube+, our follow on satellite from FUNcube 1, or fully committed to their day jobs, with little time to spare for a major volunteering role.

We have been advertising this fact to the members for over two years, requesting help and for someone, or preferably several people, to step forward and help us fill that important gap. We have said that our preference is to have a team of people producing Oscar News so that the impact on one person is not significant but despite requests, notices, emails to members and announcements at the AMSAT-UK Colloquium, we have not had any offers of assistance.

We have recently had a new member of AMSAT-UK come forward to help source and collate the content for OSCAR News and we now have a commercial arrangement for a typesetter and printer in place. Committee members that have been able to contribute to a new Oscar News have been doing so and we do have the making of a new edition of OSCAR News which we plan to publish by the end of August.

Have you been involved in some activity, operations or construction project that you would like to share with the AMSAT-UK membership?

The AMSAT-UK Committee would welcome contributions from its members to the upcoming edition. IF you have any contribution, please consider forwarding it to us at editor@amsat-uk.org and we will be in touch.

The deadline for submissions is 9th August 2026

Thank you and 73

Ciaran, M0XTD
AMSAT-UK Membership Secretary

Aug 3 2026

AMSAT-UK Colloquium Update

AMSAT-UK Logo

The annual AMSAT-UK colloquium is fast approaching.

Once again, it is being held at The Kent’s Hill Conference Centre in Milton Keynes alongside the RSGB Convention on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th October 2026.

Unfortunately, the Delta by Marriott hotel near to Kents Hill is not available this year for accommodation or the Gala Dinner so AMSAT-UK has booked the Woughton House Hotel, Newport Road, Woughton-on-the-Green, Milton Keynes, MK6 3LR, as an alternative. It is approximately a 5 minute drive from Kents Hill.

Details of the hotel, and available accommodation, can be found at https://hotelwoughtonhouse.co.uk/

The AMSAT-UK Gala Dinner will be held at the Woughton House Hotel on the evening of Saturday 10th October 2026.

This will be a 3 course meal with tea / coffee which is priced at £39.00 per person. Attendance is restricted this year and a limited number of tickets are on sale at the AMSAT-UK shop at https://shop.amsat-uk.org/product/amsat-uk-gala-dinner-2026.

If you would like a weekend of all things satellite and some good lectures from the AMSAT-UK and the RSGB, please book now and we’ll look forward to seeing you there.

Please note that you will be required to book a weekend ticket from the RSGB for attendance. Please see the RSGB booking website at https://www.tickettailor.com/events/radiosocietyofgreatbritain/2048785