With a bit of delay, I would finally like to report on my new awards. Unlike with ARPS and the QSL card, which are about transmitting to the ISS, these are more about reception. To obtain these documents, one must provide proof of receiving SSTV images from the ISS.
SSTV stands for “Slow Scan Television” and is an operating mode in amateur radio used for transmitting still images. In the context of the International Space Station (ISS), this means that the ISS transmits images via radio at specific times, which can be received by radio amateurs on Earth. This capability is mostly used for specific events. ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) usually announces these events in advance.
And I was there live for exactly two such cosmic photo sessions – practically as a paparazzo for interstellar snapshots! So, you sit there with pricked ears (and antennas) and listen to the ether, while a multi-ton high-tech laboratory with astronauts on board rushes past you at an altitude of 400 km and… well… sends little pictures. Sounds unspectacular at first? Not at all! Imagine this: there’s this characteristic beeping and chirping coming from the loudspeaker – the secret language of images from space. You hope that your own receiver and software will cooperate and that your neighbor doesn’t decide to start the lawnmower right then, or that a cosmic cow doesn’t interfere with the transmission. Every successfully decoded pixel is a small victory!
A Cheer for the Space Pioneers
The first award I “fished” for in this way was on the occasion of the International Day of Human Space Flight. And who could be more fitting for that than the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin? His likeness, together with his Vostok-1 capsule, now adorns this award. The transmitted images showed various milestones of human spaceflight.
Peace Message from Orbit
Shortly thereafter, or rather, on the next major occasion, the second award arrived. This time, it addressed a more serious, but all the more important topic: the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The ISS itself, a symbol of international cooperation and friendship, adorned this special award. A strong signal sent from above, which could be captured down here with a bit of patience and technology. That’s when you realize that amateur radio is more than just “Hello here, hello there.”
It’s a pretty cool feeling to receive these little works of art directly from the space station. Each time it’s a little thrill wondering if the transmission will work and the image will come through cleanly, especially since the ISS always seems to change images right when it’s over my location. And in the end, you’re not just holding a piece of paper, but confirmation that you’re part of a worldwide community of radio enthusiasts listening to LEO.
Now the awards are almost on the wall, reminding me that even slow pictures can travel incredibly fast when they come from the ISS. Let’s see which cosmic event will be immortalized via SSTV next – my receiver is ready! I hope I don’t miss the announcement.