Amateur Radio in Space

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Amateur Radio in Space
By Steve Ford, WB8IMY
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Overview

• Amateurs have been building satellites since the
  earliest days of space travel.
• These satellites are known as OSCARsOrbiting
  Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio.
• The first Amateur Radio satellite was OSCAR 1 and
  it reached orbit in 1961.

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Satellites Relays in the Sky

• Like commercial satellites, Amateur Radio
  satellites are primarily used to relay signals
  from one location to another.
• From their vantage points in orbit, satellites
  can see large portions of the Earth. This is
  known as a satellites footprint.
• Every station within the footprint can
  communicate through the satellite

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The Footprint of OSCAR 27

• In this illustration, every station within the
  circular footprint of OSCAR 27 (AO-27) can
  communicate through the satellite.

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Satellite Orbits

• Most Amateur Radio satellites travel in low Earth
  orbits at altitudes of 800 to 1500 km.
• At this altitude, a satellite completes one orbit
  every 90 to 100 minutes.
• At the same time, the Earth is turning beneath
  the satellite.
• The result is that all stations on the ground
  will enjoy several 15-minute communication
  sessions with each satellite each day.

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Station Equipment

• Because of the low orbits and sensitive
  receivers, many Amateur Radio satellites can be
  used with simple equipment.

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Amateur Satellites Today

• Several Amateur Radio satellites are active
  today. All are low-Earth orbiters.
• OSCARs 27, 50 and 51 relay FM voice
  transmissions.

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OSCAR 29

• OSCAR 29 relays Single Sideband (SSB) voice and
  CW transmissions.

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Digital Communication

• OSCARs 32 and 46 relay digital signals. They are
  also capable of capturing images of the Earth and
  sending these images as digital files.

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Amateur Radio on the International Space Station

• There is also a fully equipped amateur facility
  aboard the International Space Station.

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The Future

• New Amateur Radio satellites are being built now
  and should be in orbit within 5 years.
• One of these will be a high-altitude satellite
  known as Eagle.

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Amateur Radio Operators Pioneers in Space

• Amateur Radio operators continue to explore new
  technology, which includes space communication.
  With the projects currently scheduled, the future
  looks bright indeed!