International Space Station Reference

Ham Radio
Space Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment

The Space Amateur Radio Experiment, or SAREX, was a long-running program to use amateur radio equipment on board the space shuttle, the Russian Mir space station, and the International Space Station. Students from more than 200 schools exchanged questions and answers with astronauts in orbit. It was also used to conduct communications experiments with amateur radio operators on the ground.

The Space Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment, or SAREX, provided students with the unique opportunity to talk by radio with astronauts in the shuttle orbiting the Earth traveling about 27,360 kilometers (17,000 miles) per hour. With the help of amateur radio operators on the ground, students attempted to contact the astronauts by voice, packet (computer) radio, or television depending on the equipment the shuttle took into space.

Astronauts who are licensed ham radio operators participated in SAREX during their free time on missions. They made ham radio contacts with students around the world, exciting them about space, science and technology. The astronauts also contacted their families and friends, and individual ham radio operators.

When students used the radio contact with the astronauts to ask questions about the experiments being conducted on the mission and what it is like living in space. Classes tracked the shuttle's orbit using computer software, and "eavesdropped" on shuttle communications. When the astronauts were asleep, a robot computer amateur radio station aboard the shuttle was programmed to make contact with hams around the world automatically.