Dmitry Pashkov, UB4UAD, reports that the Amateur Radio slow-scan television (SSTV) experiment onboard the International Space Station has been active for the past couple of days on 145.800 MHz FM, mainly while the ISS is above Moscow. UB4UAD says that on October 31, RSØISS will transmit SSTV images showing images from the life and work of the first cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin.

Stations can view the SSTV pictures from the ISS by making a simple audio connection between the receiver output and the computer soundcard input and using one of the free SSTV programs, such as MMSSTV (for Windows systems) or the SSTV app (for Apple iOS devices). Details are on the AMSAT-UK website. (Failing a hard-wired connection, just holding a microphone connected to the PC soundcard in front of the receiver’s speaker should provide sufficient audio to decode the SSTV signal.) SSTV images from the ISS typically are in Martin 1 format.

The ISS Fan Club website indicates when the ISS is within range. The Energia page has more information on the SSTV experiment, which is designated MAI-75. Visit the UB4UAD blog. — Southgate ARC