Amateur Radio on the International Space Station

The primary goal or ARISS is "to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics topics" and inspire individuals to pursue careers in STEM.

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].

At 10:55 UTC Kiralev and William Shepherd (callsign KF5GSL) operating as NA1SS contacted the amateur radio club at NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center.

[7][8] System activation was first observed at 01:02 UTC on September 2 by ARISS control station and amateur radio ground operators.

The IORS consists of a special, modified JVCKenwood D710GA transceiver, an AMSAT-developed multi voltage power supply and interconnecting cables.

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