HAMing It Up with the Astronauts

Areas of Science	Physics
Difficulty
Time Required	Short (2-5 days)
Prerequisites	You'll need to an amateur radio license (or work with someone who has one) to complete this project. Details on getting a license can be found at the American Radio Relay League's website.
Material Availability	This project requires access to HAM radio equipment and a amateur radio license.
Cost	Very High (over $150)
Safety	No issues

*Note: For this science project you will need to develop your own experimental procedure. Use the information in the summary tab as a starting place. If you would like to discuss your ideas or need help troubleshooting, use the Ask An Expert forum. Our Experts won't do the work for you, but they will make suggestions and offer guidance if you come to them with specific questions.

If you want a Project Idea with full instructions, please pick one without an asterisk (*) at the end of the title.

Abstract

Have you ever wished you could talk to an astronaut on board the International Space Station? You're probably thinking "yeah, like NASA would ever let you do that!" Actually, they will! The International Space Station (ISS) is equipped with its own HAM radio station. The ISS HAM radio station allows astronauts, cosmonauts, and space mission specialists from different nations who are on board the space station to talk to people back home on Earth. Anyone with an amateur radio license is welcome to try contacting the astronauts there. If they aren't busy with other activities, they'll answer!

Introduction

Photo of the International Space Station in orbit above the Earth

A man on the International Space Station using a radio

Figure 1. The International Space Station (top) is equipped with a HAM radio station (bottom) where astronauts, cosmonauts, and other space mission specialists can communicate with people back on Earth. (Photo on top NASA, May 2006; photo on bottom: NASA, June 2009.)

Making contact with the ISS requires some careful planning and logistics, though. The ISS is traveling approximately 240 miles above the surface of the Earth at a speed of nearly 17,000 miles per hour! To make contact, you'll need to carefully monitor the space station's trajectory and calculate your window of opportunity. The good news is, the ISS's high speed means it orbits Earth approximately 16 times a day, which gives you plenty of tries to get it right.

With a little bit of reading about the space station, you'll be ready to get your radio equipment in order and talk to the astronauts. For more suggestions on getting started, read the Science Buddies blog entry Making Contact with the Space Station and consult some of the resources in the Bibliography, below. Just make sure you document it all so your friends and your teacher don't think your project is just a piece of science fiction!

Bibliography

Dismukes, K. (2010, January 20). International Space Station Reference: HAM Radio. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
ARRL staff. (n.d.). Amateur Radio on the International Space Station. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
Cowen, A. (2010, October 21). Making Contact with the Space Station. Retrieved October 27, 2010.

Credits

Amy Cowen, Science Buddies

Sandra Slutz, PhD, Science Buddies

Cite This Page

General citation information is provided here. Be sure to check the formatting, including capitalization, for the method you are using and update your citation, as needed.

MLA Style

Science Buddies Staff. "HAMing It Up with the Astronauts." Science Buddies, 23 June 2020, https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Phys_p080/physics/ham-radio-contact-space-station. Accessed 11 July 2020.

APA Style

Science Buddies Staff. (2020, June 23). HAMing It Up with the Astronauts. Retrieved from https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Phys_p080/physics/ham-radio-contact-space-station

Last edit date: 2020-06-23

Experimental Procedure

For this science project you will need to develop your own experimental procedure. Use the information in the summary tab as a starting place. If you would like to discuss your ideas or need help troubleshooting, use the Ask An Expert forum. Our Experts won't do the work for you, but they will make suggestions and offer guidance if you come to them with specific questions.

If you want a Project Idea with full instructions, please pick one without an asterisk (*) at the end of the title.

Ask an Expert

The Ask an Expert Forum is intended to be a place where students can go to find answers to science questions that they have been unable to find using other resources. If you have specific questions about your science fair project or science fair, our team of volunteer scientists can help. Our Experts won't do the work for you, but they will make suggestions, offer guidance, and help you troubleshoot.

Ask an Expert

If you like this project, you might enjoy exploring these related careers:

Radio Frequency Engineer

Radio frequency engineers help make sure that information gets from one place to another. This information is transmitted wirelessly as radio waves between electronic devices. Anything you can wirelessly send from one computer to another, listen to on the radio, download on a mobile phone, or see on the television (not connected to cable) is sent wirelessly using radio waves, and the transmission and devices were designed by a radio frequency engineer. Radio frequency engineers are typically electrical engineers who decided to specialize in radio frequency engineering. Read more

Sound Engineering Technician

Any time you hear music at a concert, a live speech, the police sirens in a TV show, or the six o'clock news you're hearing the work of a sound engineering technician. Sound engineering technicians operate machines and equipment to record, synchronize, mix, or reproduce music, voices, or sound effects in recording studios, sporting arenas, theater productions, or movie and video productions. Read more

Mathematician

Mathematicians are part of an ancient tradition of searching for patterns, conjecturing, and figuring out truths based on rigorous deduction. Some mathematicians focus on purely theoretical problems, with no obvious or immediate applications, except to advance our understanding of mathematics, while others focus on applied mathematics, where they try to solve problems in economics, business, science, physics, or engineering. Read more

Electrical & Electronics Engineer

Just as a potter forms clay, or a steel worker molds molten steel, electrical and electronics engineers gather and shape electricity and use it to make products that transmit power or transmit information. Electrical and electronics engineers may specialize in one of the millions of products that make or use electricity, like cell phones, electric motors, microwaves, medical instruments, airline navigation system, or handheld games. Read more

News Feed on This Topic

, ,

Note: A computerized matching algorithm suggests the above articles. It's not as smart as you are, and it may occasionally give humorous, ridiculous, or even annoying results! Learn more about the News Feed

Looking for more science fun?

Try one of our science activities for quick, anytime science explorations. The perfect thing to liven up a rainy day, school vacation, or moment of boredom.

Find an Activity

HAMing It Up with the Astronauts *

Abstract

Introduction

Bibliography

Credits