ARISS is excited to premier a new video all about Amateur Radio on the International Space Station! Thanks to Nichole Ayers KJ5GWI (@Astro_Ayers on X) who recorded this during her time on the International Space Station.
Join us Tuesday 02-December on https://YouTube.com/ARISSlive for the big reveal!
From November 12-19 amateur Slow Scan TV (SSTV) transmissions are expected from the International Space Station (ISS) to celebrate 25 years of the ISS & ARISS, and the amazing work that Scouting does!
Start: Wednesday, November 12 1730 GMT (5:30pm UK local)
End: Wednesday, November 19 1450 GMT (2:50pm UK local)
Frequency: 145.800 MHz FM (+/-3.5 kHz Doppler Shift)
SSTV Mode: PD120 (Transmission cycle 2 minutes on, 2 minutes off)
You are invited to upload decoded images in the ARISS gallery, area “Series 30 – ISS at 25 & Scouts” at: https://ariss-usa.org/ARISS_SSTV/
Once you’ve submitted, just clicking on the dedicated button you can apply for the official ARISS SSTV award.
Also, you can request the ARISS QSL by contacting the European QSL bureau: https://www.ariss-eu.org/index.php/ariss-station/european-qsl-bureau
To support everyone interested in such events, the European Space Agency released tutorials about how to receive pictures transmitted over amateur radio by the International Space Station: you can find them on https://issfanclub.eu/2024/11/08/esa-tips-how-to-get-pictures-from-the-international-space-station-via-amateur-radio-2/
It’s always possible to receive the ISS SSTV signal by using the WebSDR at the Goonhilly Earth Station, the audio can then be fed into your PC or Smartphone SSTV App https://vhf-goonhilly.batc.org.uk/
Follow @ARISS_intl on X for official updates, since changes can occur.
Reminder, the images are sent on a (roughly) 2 minutes on, 2 minutes off schedule. So if you don’t hear anything, give it 2 minutes!
Many FM rigs can be switched been wide and narrow deviation FM filters. For best results you should select the filter for wider deviation FM. Handhelds generally have a single wide filter fitted as standard.
You can get predictions for the ISS pass times at https://www.amsat.org/track/
Useful information on receiving the pictures and links for Apps to display the pictures can be found here:
https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/iss-sstv/
You may be able to get publicity for the amateur radio hobby if you contact your local newspaper and tell them you’ve received a picture (doesn’t have to be perfect) from the International Space Station, see
https://amsat-uk.org/2015/02/04/iss-sstv-in-uk-press/
The amateur radio scouting event Jamboree On The Air (JOTA) is taking place this weekend October 18-19.
Scouts from the 1st Radford Semele Scout Group at Radford Semele, UK, are planned to talk to astronaut Jonny Kim KJ5HKP on the International Space Station on Saturday, October 18 at 10:49 AM BST (09:49:40 GMT).
Jonny Kim will answer questions from Scouts in United Kingdom during this live amateur radio contact.
Astronaut Jonny Kim will operate the amateur radio station call sign NA1SS aboard the ISS and will call the radio amateur ground station call sign GB4RSS in United Kingdom. This is a live ARISS radio contact from the 1st Radford Semele Scout Group in Radford Semele, UK. You can listen live to astronaut Jonny Kim aboard the ISS on 145.800 MHz FM (plus/minus 3 kHz Doppler shift).
The Space Station amateur radio transmission should be receiveable across the British Isles and Europe using just a handheld radio with a 1/4 wave whip.
Many FM rigs can be switched been wide and narrow deviation FM filters. For best results you should select the filter for wider deviation FM. Handhelds generally have a single wide filter fitted as standard.
The space and ground teams will attempt to use the recently reinstalled HamTV transmitter during this contact. HamTV DATV frequency is 2395 MHz.
In preparation for this ARISS contact, the HamTV transmitter will be tested with a color bar screen during the preceding pass. The pre-contact pass over Europe is at 8:15 UTC.
The event will be streamed live:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFBgDKPg4Mk
The HamTV downlink will be streamed:
https://live.ariss.org/hamtv/
English is the expected language of communication for this amateur radio contact.
Questions:
1. Is being on the ISS like living on Mars
2. Can you see the Milky Way from there?
3. Do plants still grow towards the sun on the ISS?
4. What’s the funniest thing that’ has happened to you in space
5. What happens if you drop something in space, does it float forever?
6. Have you ever seen a space storm or shooting star from the ISS
7. Have you ever had to fix something important in space, and what happened?
8. Do you ever play tricks or jokes on each other
9. What do you eat for breakfast in space? Cereal would float away
10. How does a space walk feel?
11. Does food taste different in space? Better or worse?
12. What’s the coolest experiment you’ve done in space?
13. Do you feel Dizzy when you get back to earth
14. With Halloween coming up, do you hear creepy sounds on the ISS?
15. Do you play Board Games on the ISS? Which ones?
16. What’s the most difficult challenge you’ve faced while living on the space station?
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.
Check out the ARISS website and follow ARISS on the official social media channels for more updates.
https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html
ARISS-Europe News Bulletins are distributed by AMSAT Belgium.
Follow @ARISS_intl on X for official updates, since schedule changes can occur.
A special ARISS-Russia Slow Scan TV (SSTV) event is taking place on the International Space Station (ISS) beginning Friday, October 3, 2025, at 11:40 UTC and ending Thursday, October 9, 2025, at 07:30 UTC.
There will be breaks in the SSTV transmissions on Saturday at 10:00 UTC and Monday 13:40 UTC for ARISS school contacts.
ARISS Series 29 comprises 12 images to celebrate the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite in 1957.
The SSTV transmissions will be made using the amateur radio station in the Russian ISS Service Module. The transmission frequency will be 145.800 MHz FM, (+/- 3.5 kHz Doppler shift) using SSTV mode PD120. The ISS callsign will be RS0ISS.
To support everyone interested in such events, the European Space Agency released tutorials about how to receive pictures transmitted over amateur radio by the International Space Station: you can find them on
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2020/07/How_to_get_pictures_from_the_International_Space_Station_via_amateur_radio
You are invited to upload decoded images in the ARISS gallery, at: https://ariss-usa.org/ARISS_SSTV/ Once you’ve submitted, just clicking on the dedicated button you can apply for the official ARISS SSTV award.
It’s possible to receive the ISS SSTV signal by using the WebSDR at the Goonhilly Earth Station, the audio can then be fed into your PC or Smartphone SSTV App https://vhf-goonhilly.batc.org.uk/
Follow @ARISS_intl on X for official updates, since changes can occur.
Reminder, the images are sent on a (roughly) 2 minutes on, 2 minutes off schedule. So if you don’t hear anything, give it 2 minutes!
Many FM rigs can be switched been wide and narrow deviation FM filters. For best results you should select the filter for wider deviation FM. Handhelds generally have a single wide filter fitted as standard.
You can get predictions for the ISS pass times at https://www.amsat.org/track/
Useful information on receiving the pictures and links for Apps to display the pictures can be found here:
https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/iss-sstv/
You may be able to get publicity for the amateur radio hobby if you contact your local newspaper and tell them you’ve received a picture (doesn’t have to be perfect) from the International Space Station, see
https://amsat-uk.org/2015/02/04/iss-sstv-in-uk-press/
JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, has announced that five Japanese CubeSats will be deployed from the International Space Station (ISS) on September 19 at 08:25-09:00 GMT (09:25-10:00 BST, 17:25-18:00 JST) (though the date and time of the deployment are subject to change due to the ISS schedule modification). The deployment event for those satellites will be broadcast via YouTube JAXA Channel. Four of the CubeSats, carrying scientific and educational payloads, will operate in the amateur bands, and radio amateurs around the world are invited to participate in the projects:
Raspberry Pi High School CubeSat GHS-01
GHS-01 is a 2U size CubeSat equipped with a camera for photographing the earth, a sensor for checking the state of the satellite, and an attitude control device. In response to commands from the ground station, the satellite-mounted camera photographs the earth from space and transmits the image data to the ground. In order for amateur radio users around the world to voluntarily acquire image data taken by this satellite by radio, the date and time of image transmission will be published on the website https://gifuhs2022.wordpress.com/. Also, the satellite carries a digitalker mission. Audio data is transmitted from a ground station and stored in the satellite. The voice data is transmitted from the satellite as an analog FM voice signal, and a message is broadcast from space. The date and time the message will be sent will be published on the website. The satellite was built by Gifu University with technical cooperation for using satellite radio waves with sister schools of universities and high schools such as Lithuania, Australia, Kenya, South Korea, and Taiwan. A downlink on 437.090 MHz has been coordinated with 20 wpm CW, 1k2 AFSK, 9k6 GMSK and digitalker voice.
DRAGONFLY, coordinated by Kyushu Institute of Technology, is part of the Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Satellite project, BIRDS-X, and funded by Amateur Radio Digital Communications in the U.S. The 2U CubeSat will carry APRS digipeaters on 145.825 MHz, as well as a Store and Forward messaging system. In addition to the VHF APRS frequency, a UHF downlink for CW beacon and telemetry using 4k8 GMSK will transmit at 437.375 MHz. A ground terminal competition will be held on DRAGONFLY. More information is available at https://birds-x.birds-project.com/
STARS-Me2, a 1U CubeSat built by Shizuoka University features an earth observation camera, but the real experimentation takes place on the AX.25 radio downlinks on which those photos are transmitted back to earth. Reception success rates at receiving ground stations will be measured at baud rates of 1.2kbps, 9.6kbps and 115.2kbps. The coding gain of the error correction scheme will be measured on the downlinks. And the reception performance with polarization diversity at multiple terrestrial receiver stations (developed by amateur radio operators) will be evaluated. The goal is to learn more about how large data sets, such as images, are best transmitted from space. UHF downlinks with CW, 1k2 AFSK, 9k6 FSK and 115.2 bps GMSK are coordinated for 437.350 MHz, 437.400 MHz and 437.200 MHz.
RSP-03 is also a 1U CubeSat carrying a camera, but in this case the camera will not be aimed at earth, but at the stars. The main mission is to capture the star data by camera, convert it to “audible data,” and deliver the audio to the ground as a “Stellar Symphony.” After acquiring data of stars and constellations captured by the onboard camera an on-board AI will compose sounds from the star data and transmit it to the ground via an FM Digi-talker. In addition, digital data will be sent using various baud rates and modulation modes, and a digital “QSL card,” stored on the satellite before launch will be transmitted via SSTV after amateurs have uploaded their callsigns from the ground. A downlink at 437.050 MHz will be shared by the FM Digi-talker, 1200 BPS (AFSK on FM), 9600 BPS (GMSK), and 24000 BPS (4FSK, OQPSK). Details are at https://rsp03.rymansat.com/en.
IARU Satellite Frequency Coordination https://iaru.amsat-uk.org/
JAXA Deployment News https://humans-in-space.jaxa.jp/en/biz-lab/news/detail/004949.html
Follow JAXA Kibo on X https://x.com/JAXA_Kiboriyo
Follow AMSAT-UK on X at https://x.com/AmsatUK
[Thanks to ANS, Masa Arai, JN1GKZ, IARU, and JAXA for the above information.]
RSGB Team members at 2025 YOTA Summer Camp
Upcoming ARISS radio contact between the International Space Station, call sign OR4ISS, and young people at the IARU Region 1 YOTA Summer Camp, call sign FX5YOTA, on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, at 09:18:53 UTC (10:18 AM BST) on 145.800 MHz FM.
Astronaut Mike Fincke KE5AIT will operate the amateur radio station call sign OR4ISS aboard the ISS and will call the radio amateur ground station call sign FX5YOTA in France. This is a live ARISS radio contact from the Youngsters On The Air – Summer Camp in Jambville, France.
The YOTA Summer Camp is a chance of a lifetime for these young RSGB members to represent their country and their national society:
• Leon, 2E0VUF (UK Team Leader)
• Emily, M7HPU
• Sophie, M7IJG, who will be among those asking Mike Fincke a question
• Sam, M0UEL
More information on the UK team at
https://rsgb.org/main/about-us/yota/yota-summer-camps/yota-paris-2025/
You can listen live to astronaut Mike Fincke aboard the ISS on 145.800 MHz (plus/minus 3 kHz Doppler shift).
Many FM rigs can be switched been wide and narrow deviation FM filters. For best results you should select the filter for wider deviation FM. Handhelds generally have a single wide filter fitted as standard.
The event will be streamed live:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MARkTcR6Njo
English is the expected language of communication in this amateur radio contact.
Follow @ARISS_intl on X for official updates, since changes can occur.
Questions (as time allows):
1. What types of emergencies do you train for on ISS?
2. What’s the biggest question/curiosity you had about life before becoming an astronaut?
3. What was the most unexpected thing that happened to you in space?
4. What is the funniest thing to do in space?
5. How are crew and equipment on the ISS protected from solar radiation?
6. What were your first thoughts after seeing the Earth from above?
7. Can you describe how the ISS sounds like inside?
8. How does your body feel when you come back to Earth after being in space?
9. Was there an experiment where you had to improvise something?
10. How often do you get on the radio to make QSOs with HAMs?
11. Is amateur radio important for the ISS?
12. Back on Earth, how often are you active on the air and what’s your favorite band/mode?
13. How do you cope with being away from family for a long period of time?
14. What’s the first thing you would do back on Earth?
15. Can you describe your first ham radio contact from the ISS?
16. Will humanity be able to live on another planet/moon in the upcoming decades?
17. In your opinion, what skills are essential in becoming an astronaut?
18. Have you operated in Morse code as part of your amateur radio or other communication activities?
19. Does the time passed in space feel any longer or shorter than on Earth?
20. Is oxygen depletion highly affected by the growth of plants/micro-organisms on board?
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.
Check out the ARISS website and follow ARISS on the official social media channels for more updates.
https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html
ARISS-Europe News Bulletins are distributed by AMSAT Belgium.
We can only maintain this service with your donation.
https://www.amsat-on.be/donation-ariss-europe-news-bulletin/
AMSAT-UK 
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