Last week , unpaid tuner fancier Adrian Lane sent a call signal to the International Space Station . To his blow and delight , he engender a response . He jaw with an spaceman for about 45 second before the place went out of ambit .
Lane ’s brief “ phone call ” with an actual astronaut in space garnered international medium attention , but accord to NASA , this kind of matter pass off all the time . That ’s because there ’s a ham radio up on the outer space station , similar to the ones used by amateurish radio set partisan around the world . That means you , too , can try call the station !
Ham radio refers to a Seth of radio receiver frequencies allocated by the FCC for recreational enthusiasts . To get on the airwaves , you necessitate a basic knowledge of wireless technology and operating principles , and you call for to pass a licensing examination . US licenses are good for 10 years before renewal and come in three different class : technician , general and extra . you may read about those different licenseshere , or look for an recreational wireless license class in your areahere .
Then you ’ll need to get yourself some proper equipment . register the Amateur Radio Relay League ’s ( ARRL)guideto learn all about select gear for your very first receiving set post . If you ’re serious about send for an astronaut , you ’ll also want to arrest out the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station ( ARISS)page , which lists ham wireless frequencies presently in use on board the ISS .
Your skillful chance of making contact with the ISS is when it ’s right away overhead . Public demesne software is available to facilitate you track the station , find out when it ’ll be within range , and where to point your antenna . Here ’s AMSAT ’s popularpass prediction prick .
Finally , you ’ll want to take the schedules of the ISS crew into account . They ’re busy Isle of Man and women , and there ’s no warranty they ’ll answer your call , you ham actor ! Says the ARISS :
The oeuvre schedules of the ISS gang prescribe when they are capable to operate the radios . The work party ’s common waking period is 0730 – 1930 UTC . The most uncouth times to find a gang member making cursory periods are about one hour after waking and before log Z’s , when they have personal prison term . They ’re usually free most of the weekend , as well . ( Thecurrent gang oeuvre scheduleis published on the NASA web site . )
If you do make contact with the ISS , throw away us a line and let us recognise how it go ! I heard rumors thatspace lettuce taste like Eruca vesicaria sativa , and I ’d really like to get some substantiation on that .
[ New York Times ]
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Top image via NASA
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