This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: Hardware failure following a January 2021 spacewalk,[1] and updates on planned 2020 changes. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2021)
A student speaks to crew on the International Space Station using Amateur Radio equipment, provided free by volunteers of the ARISS program.Astronaut Doug Wheelock operating ham radio from the ISS
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a program that facilitates radio communications between licensed amateur radio operators and crew members aboard the International Space Station using the amateur-satellite service. The primary goal or ARISS is "to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics topics" and inspire individuals to pursue careers in STEM.[2]
Students and amateur radio operators all over the world are able to speak directly to astronauts and cosmonauts via handheld, mobile, or home radio stations. Low power radios and small antennas can be used to establish communications. It is also possible to send digital data to the ISS via laptop computers, similar to an email communication, using radio frequencies instead of telephone or cable connections [citation needed].
On November 12, 2000 the first amateur radio contacts were made from the International Space Station during Expedition 1. Sometime between 06:30 and 10:10 UTC Sergei Krikalev (callsign U5MIR) contacted the ARISS team in Russia. At 10:55 UTC Kiralev and William Shepherd (callsign KF5GSL) operating as NA1SS contacted the amateur radio club at NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center. A few minutes later they would talk to the Johnson Space Center club, W5RRR. The team noted in the mission log, "Comm quality of the VHF circuit was excellent. Signal to noise and readability of the ham radio is better than our other comm circuits."[4]
In 2011, Kenwood Electronics launched an advertising campaign capitalizing on the fact that their TM-D700A transceiver is currently in use on the ISS.[5]
Many of the space station crew are also amateur radio operators. After their standard work day (based on UTC time), they might use their evening free time to communicate with family and other hams via amateur radio. Crew member Kjell N. Lindgren spoke with a young operator in the UK during the summer of 2022 and later they exchanged photos and cards.[6] Crew members from ISS Expedition 69 and Expedition 70 as well as Axiom 1 and Axiom 2 have made recent space to ground contacts with schools via Amateur Radio.
Interoperable Radio System (IORS)
Interoperable Radio System (IORS) is the foundation element of the ARISS next-generation radio system on ISS. A total of four flight units and ten total units are being built by the ARISS hardware team. This first IORS radio was flown to ISS on SpaceX CRS-20 and installed in the ISS Columbus module by Expedition 63 Commander, Chris Cassidy on September 2, 2020.[7][8] System activation was first observed at 01:02 UTC on September 2 by ARISS control station and amateur radio ground operators. Initial operation of the new radio system began as an FM cross band repeater.
A second flight unit has launched on a later 2020 cargo flight for installation in the Russian Service module.[9] Since 2022 ARISS has been using IORS radios in both the Columbus and Service Modules.[10] The Columbus Module radio typically functions as the crossband voice repeater when not being used for contacts with students. The Service Module IORS radio typically is used for packet radio operations like Automatic Packet Reporting System activities or Slow-scan television events. The IORS consists of a special, modified JVCKenwood D710GA transceiver, an AMSAT-developed multi voltage power supply and interconnecting cables.
The IORS has a higher power radio, an enhanced voice repeater, updated digital packet radio (APRS) capabilities and slow scan television (SSTV) capabilities for both the US and Russian segments.
The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA, Roscosmos (Russia), ESA (Europe), JAXA (Japan), and CSA (Canada). As the largest space station ever constructed, it primarily serves as a platform for conducting scientific experiments in microgravity and studying the space environment.
Daniel Christopher Burbank is a retired American astronaut and a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions. Burbank, a Captain in the United States Coast Guard, is the second Coast Guard astronaut after Bruce Melnick.
AMSAT is a name for various amateur radio satellite organizations worldwide. In particular, it often refers to the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, headquartered in Washington, D.C. AMSAT organizations design, build, arrange launches for, and then operate (command) satellites carrying amateur radio payloads, including the OSCAR series of satellites. Other informally affiliated national organizations exist, such as AMSAT Germany (AMSAT-DL) and AMSAT Japan (JAMSAT).
STS-106 was a 2000 Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis.
Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalev is a Russian mechanical engineer and former cosmonaut and head of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.
Sergey Yevgenyevich Treshchov is a former cosmonaut of the RSC Energia. He spent 184 days in space as a flight engineer of the International Space Station long duration Expedition 5 crew. During the mission he also conducted a spacewalk.
Expedition 1 was the first long-duration expedition to the International Space Station (ISS). The three-person crew stayed aboard the station for 136 days, from 2 November 2000 to 19 March 2001. It was the beginning of an uninterrupted human presence on the station which continues as of 2025.
Harmony, also known as Node 2, is the "utility hub" of the International Space Station. It connects the laboratory modules of the United States, Europe and Japan, as well as providing electrical power and electronic data. Sleeping cabins for four of the crew are housed here.
SuitSat was a retired Russian Orlan space suit with a radio transmitter mounted on its helmet, used as a hand-launched satellite.
Douglas Harry "Wheels" Wheelock is an American engineer and astronaut. He has flown in space twice, logging 178 days on the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, and Russian Soyuz. On July 12, 2011, Wheelock announced that he would be returning to active duty with the United States Army in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He is currently working with NASA to test the Orion spacecraft at the Glenn Research Center in Plum Brook, Ohio.
An amateur radio repeater is an electronic device that receives a weak or low-level amateur radio signal and retransmits it at a higher level or higher power, so that the signal can cover longer distances without degradation. Many repeaters are located on hilltops or on tall buildings as the higher location increases their coverage area, sometimes referred to as the radio horizon, or "footprint". Amateur radio repeaters are similar in concept to those used by public safety entities, businesses, government, military, and more. Amateur radio repeaters may even use commercially packaged repeater systems that have been adjusted to operate within amateur radio frequency bands, but more often amateur repeaters are assembled from receivers, transmitters, controllers, power supplies, antennas, and other components, from various sources.
Clayton Conrad Anderson is a retired NASA astronaut. Launched on STS-117, he replaced Sunita Williams on June 10, 2007, as a member of the ISS Expedition 15 crew. He is currently an author, a motivational speaker, and a Professor of Practice at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. In 2022 he became the president and CEO of the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum.
The Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX), later called the Space Amateur Radio Experiment, was a program that promoted and supported the use of amateur ("ham") radio by astronauts in low Earth orbit aboard the United States Space Shuttle to communicate with other amateur radio stations around the world. It was superseded by the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program. SAREX was sponsored by NASA, AMSAT, and the ARRL.
Poisk , also known as the Mini-Research Module 2, is a docking module of the International Space Station (ISS). Added in 2009, Poisk was the first major Russian addition to the International Space Station since 2001. Poisk is overall the same design as the docking module Pirs. Whereas Pirs was attached to the nadir ("bottom") port of Zvezda, Poisk is attached to the zenith ("top"); Pirs was closer to the Earth with the ISS in its usual orientation, and Poisk is on the other side. Poisk is Russian for explore or search. Poisk combines various docking, EVA, and science capabilities. It has two egress hatches for EVAs in addition to the two spacecraft docking ports. Although Poisk is designated as Mini-Research Module 2, it arrived before Mini-Research Module 1 (Rassvet), which had a different design; Poisk looks more like the Pirs docking port, which is not designated as a mini-research module.
Oleg Ivanovich Skripochka is a Russian engineer and cosmonaut. In 2011 he was in space serving as an Expedition 25/26 crewmember.
Aleksandr Mikhailovich Samokutyaev is a Russian politician and former cosmonaut. Samokutyaev served as a Flight Engineer for the International Space Station (ISS) long duration Expedition 27/28 missions. He also served as the Soyuz TMA-21 commander. He most recently served on the Soyuz TMA-14M Expedition 41/42 crew aboard the ISS. He was hired as a cosmonaut in the summer of 2003.
Serena Maria Auñón-Chancellor is an American physician, engineer, and NASA astronaut. She visited the International Space Station (ISS) during Expedition 56/57. After returning, she transitioned to a management role within NASA, where she handles medical issues aboard the station.
The European contribution to the International Space Station comes from 10 members of the European Space Agency (ESA) and amounts to an 8% share in the programme. It consists of a number of modules in the US Orbital Segment, ATV supply ships, launchers, software and €8 billion.
SpaceX CRS-20, also known as SpX-20, was a Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launched on 7 March 2020. The mission was contracted by NASA and flown by SpaceX. It was the final flight of Dragon 1 and concluded the NASA Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) contract extension.
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