A special event organised by the RSGB and Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS), in collaboration with the UK Space Agency, Girlguiding Surrey West and Brooklands Museum’s Innovation Academy programme took place today and I was fortunate enough to actually receive the signal from the ISS as it passed over Europe.

The contact with NASA astronaut Sunita Williams was also attended by The Duchess of Edinburgh who asked the first question via radio to the NASA astronaut.

Following this a number of girl guides posed questions which were very quickly answered as the ISS passed overhead.

Using my new Wouxun UV-980PL and simple end-fed vertical dipole I got a great signal from the ISS HAM radio station and was able to receive the ISS side of the conversation as the space station approached the N/W Coast of Spain until it eventually dropped below the horizon out of site nearing East Russia.

Below is a short video clip with audio showing the clarity of reception. The ISS peaked at an S9 signal, it was a perfect pass for the special event.

I’m hoping to put up a better antenna for 2/4/6m & 70cm in the next few days so that I can start joining the local nets on these bands and perhaps get contacts through a few more of the FM Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites.

I’ll also be writing a full article on the Wouxun KG UV-980PL in the very near future, so if this radio is of interest to you then watch this space.

More soon …