07/31/2023

A radio experiment held on July 26, 2023, to decode a slow-scan TV (SSTV)
message sent via the ham radio station on the International Space Station (ISS)
was successful.

The image was received by a group of educators at the headquarters of  ARRL
The National Association for Amateur Radio¿[1] in Newington, Connecticut
through the voice repeater on the ISS. Teachers from around the United States
were on hand for the ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology[2], a
program that empowers educators to incorporate amateur radio into their
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curriculum. As part of
the professional development program, the group received and decoded the image
sent by volunteers with Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS). The transmitted image said, "ARRL Teachers Institute: ensuring a space
for radio in the next generation."

The teachers thought it was cool. "Amateur radio is so important to the future
of engineering and STEM in our country," said Kristen Kucko, KQ4ECP, one of the
institute participants. The group gathered outside ARRL Headquarters with
antennas they had made earlier in the day. As the pass happened, the educators
tracked the ISS by hand. A warble of SSTV transmission filled the air, and the
group was excited. After the pass, they used laptops to decode the audio stream
into an image, while they sat on picnic tables and enjoyed pizza and wings.

For ARRL Education and Learning Manager Steve Goodgame, K5ATA, the experiment
was a way to allow teachers to engage with the power of radio. "When teachers
can pull an image off the ISS via amateur radio, it gives a sense of
accomplishment that gets them excited. We want to get them fired up about
radio, so they can carry that energy back to their classrooms and do the same
thing with their students," said Goodgame.

Each of the teachers on hand for the second phase of the institute, -- "TI-2:
Remote Sensing and Data Analysis," -- have already been through the
introductory course and they are all licensed radio amateurs. The institute
costs teachers nothing to attend, thanks to funding from the ARRL Education &
Technology Program.[3]

Several local television stations from the Hartford-New Haven market covered
the event. See coverage from WTNH News 8 (ABC)[4] and WFSB Eyewitness News 3
(CBS)[5].

[1] http://www.arrl.org
[2] http://www.arrl.org/teachers-institute-on-wireless-technology
[3] http://www.arrl.org/education-technology-program
[4] https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/hartford/teachers-in-newington-build-antennas-to-decode-message-from-international-space-station/
[5] http://mms.tveyes.com/MediaView/?c3RhdGlvbj0xMjY1JlN0YXJ0RGF0ZVRpbWU9MDclMmYyNiUyZjIwMjMrMjMlM2EyNCUzYTIyJkVuZERhdGVUaW1lPTA3JTJmMjYlMmYyMDIzKzIzJTNhMjUlM2ExMiYmJmR1cmF0aW9uPTI5NDU1OSZwYXJ0bmVyaWQ9NzMxMyYmaGlnaGxpZ2h0cmVnZXg9JTVjYmFtYXRldXIrcmFkaW8lNWNiJm1vZGVkaXRvcmVuYWJsZT10cnVlJm1vZGVkaXRvcmRlc3RpbmF0aW9ucz00JiZleHBpcmF0aW9uPTA4JTJmMjUlMmYyMDIzKzIzJTNhMjQlM2EyMi4wMDAmaW5zdGFudFBsYXk9VHJ1ZSZzaWduYXR1cmU9NWUxZWZlNGY4YmYxZTE1YTIyNDExZWVlMmZiN2NiYjg=

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