We’ve recently added a new room to the Matrix HAM Radio Space for Digital Voice modes as this was an area of interest that didn’t really fit into any of the other rooms.

The new Digital Voice room has attracted a lot of attention from members, with a lot of the focus being on the AllStarLink system. Michael, DK1MI built an AllStarLink node in the cloud for us all to use for Matrix Nets and so I decided I had to get in on the fun.

The Jumbospot SHARI SA818 Amateur Radio AllStarLink Radio Interface was originally designed by N8AR and implements a RaspberryPi 2/3/4 hosted AllStarLink node using a NiceRF SA818 embedded VHF/UHF radio module and sound card.

The two USB connectors on the SHARI device are position such that they plug into two of the available 4 USB ports on the RaspberryPi without the need for cables. This keeps the whole solution together in one neat package.

Before you start you will need to obtain a node number and secret (password) from the AllStarLink Portal. To get this you will need to provide proof to the AllStarLink administrators that you are a licensed Amateur Radio (HAM) operator. This is done by uploading a copy of the first page of your HAM licence to the website for the admin team to check. This can take 24hrs to be completed so make sure you get this all done before trying to build your node. You cannot build a node successfully without a node number and secret.

Of course you will also need a transceiver that can operate on the 438.800Mhz frequency or other frequency of your choice on the 2m or 70cm HAM band.

You will also need to open port 4569 on your internet router and setup port forwarding to the IP Address that you will be using on your RaspberryPi node. It’s important to use a static IP Address on your RaspberryPi.

There are quite a few different Linux based operating system (O/S) images that are available for the RaspberryPi devices that have been specifically tailored for the AllStarLink node and include all the necessary software and library packages out the box.

I decided to use the Raspbian GNU/Linux 10 (buster) based distribution as it is based on the very stable and reliable Debian Linux distro. You can download the exact version I am using from the Raspbian link above or directly from my website here.

Once downloaded you need to burn the ISO image onto a suitable SD card for your RaspberryPi. I use BalenaEtcher as it’s extremely quick and reliable at burning ISO images to SD cards.

Of course if you are a hardline Linux command line junkie you can always use dd to create the SD card.

Once you’ve got your O/S onto your SD card, slot it into your RaspberryPi making sure your SHARI device is connected to the two USB ports and then power it up. Make sure you have a good PSU for the RaspberryPi as the two devices together draw around 3A of current during the transmit cycle. (I use a 3.6A PSU from Amazon).

The default login for the Raspbian O/S is shown below. Login via SSH and configure your RaspberryPi for your local network. It’s important to use a static IP Address configured either directly on the RaspberryPi or via DHCP in your router.

Login: repeater
Passsword: allstarlink
SSH port: 22

Once you have your RaspberryPi connected to your LAN you are ready to start configuring it for AllStarLink.

The first thing you need to do is login to the raspi via SSH and then become root user using sudo as shown below:

sudo su -

Once you are root user, you need to add the AllStarLink repo to the sources file and update the operating system using the following command:

curl -s http://apt.allstarlink.org/repos/repo_signing.key | apt-key add
apt update --allow-releaseinfo-change
apt dist-upgrade

Copy and paste each line one at a time into your terminal. Once the last command finishes, the system is up to date and can be rebooted as follows:

reboot

Once the raspi has rebooted, login again via SSH as user repeater and then become root user again.

You now need to install a couple of Python components that are required by the system to function. Use the commands below as user root:

apt-get install python3-dev python3-pip
pip3 install pyserial

Next you need to change directory into the asterisk config file directory using the command shown below:

cd /etc/asterisk

In this directory you will find all the default config files that come as part of the distro. For this build we’re not going to use them and so we need to move them out of the way ready for a set of config files that have already been configured correctly.

Using the following commands create a new directory, move into that new directory and then move all the unwanted configuration files into it:

mkdir ORIGINAL-CONF-FILES
cd ./ORIGINAL-CONF-FILES
mv ../*.conf ./
ls -la
cd ../

You should now be back in the /etc/asterisk directory which will now be empty apart from the custom directory which we left in place.

You now need to copy the correctly configured configuration files into the /etc/asterisk directory. Start by downloading the zip file containing the new configuration files

Once downloaded, copy the .zip file into the repeater users home directory (/home/repeater) using either scp on the Linux command line or if using Windows you can use the FileZilla Client in SFTP mode using the login details above.

Once you have the .zip file in the repeater user’s home directory you need to copy the file into the /etc/asterisk directory as user root:

cp /home/repeater/AllStarLink-Config-v3.zip /etc/asterisk/

Next as user root, change directory into the /etc/asterisk directory and unzip the .zip file:

cd /etc/asterisk
unzip ./AllStarLink-Config-v3.zip

Once the file is unzipped you need to move a couple of files into the repeater users home directory using the following commands:

mv ./SA818-running.py /home/repeater
mv ./gpio /home/repeater

Once the files have been moved you need to set the correct ownership and privileges on the files using the following commands:

chown -R root:root /etc/asterisk/*.conf
chown repeater:repeater /home/repeater/gpio
chown repeater:repeater /home/repeater/SA818-running.py
chmod 755 /home/repeater/gpio
chmod 755 /home/repeater/SA818-running.py

The gpio BASH script and configuration details were supplied by Mark, G1INU in the Digital Voice room on the Matrix. It adds the COS light functionality to the setup. The COS light will now light every time the SA818 hears RF on the input.

The next thing you need to do is configure the SA818 radio device in the SHARI. The script I used was originally from https://wiki.fm-funknetz.de/doku.php?id=fm-funknetz:technik:shari-sa818 all I’ve done is change the entries to switch off CTCSS and changed the frequency to 438.800Mhz. Configuring the SA818 is done by running the SA818-running.py Python programme that you moved into the repeater user home directory. Making sure you are still user root, run the following commands:

cd /home/repeater
./SA818-running.py

At this point your SHARI SA818 device will be configured to operate on 438.800Mhz and CTCSS will be disabled.

If you want to change the frequency or enable and set a CTCSS tone to access the node you will need to edit the Python programme using your favourite text editor and change the entries accordingly. Once changed rerun the program as shown above and your SHARI will be reconfigured to your new settings.

Next you need to move the allmon.ini.php file into the correct directory so that it enables access to the Allstar Monitor web page on the device so that you can manage connecting/disconnecting nodes. Use the following commands as user root to achieve this:

cd /etc/asterisk
mv ./allmon.ini.php /var/www/html/allmon2/
chown root:root /var/www/html/allmon2/allmon.ini.php
chmod 644 /var/www/html/allmon2/allmon.ini.php

The allmon.ini.php file needs to have your node name entered into it for it to work correctly. As user root, change directory and edit the file using your favourite editor.

cd /var/www/html

Using your text editor, search for the line starting [XXXXX] and change the XXXXX to your node number. Save the change and exit the file.

At this point you are almost complete, all that is left to do is add your node number and node secret into the appropriate configuration files in the /etc/asterisk directory.

Since I am a Linux command line junkie I use vi to edit all the configuration files on the command line as user root, but you can use any editor of your choice.

cd /etc/asterisk

Start with the extensions.conf file. Search for the line starting with NODE = and delete the XXXXX entry and insert your node number. Save the file and edit it.

Next you need to edit the iax.conf file. This time search for the line starting with
register= and change the XXXXX for your node number and the YYYYYYYYYYYY for your node secret. Be careful not to accidentally delete any other characters in the lines otherwise it will corrupt the configuration file.

In the same file search for the two lines that start with secret = and change the YYYYYYYYYYYY for your node secret. Once you have changed both of the secret entries, save and exit the file.

The final file to edit is the rpt.conf file. Once again open the file using your favourite editor and search for the line starting with XXXXX = radio@127.0.0.1:4569/XXXXX, change the XXXXX entries for your node number making sure not to delete any other characters next to the XXXXX entries.

Further down in the same file there is a line that starts with [XXXXX], once again change the XXXXX for your node number making sure to keep the square brackets at each end of the node number as you edit it.

Finally move down to the very bottom of the file and find the two lines that start with /home/repeater/gpio, once again change the XXXXX entries for your node number.

Once this is done, save and exit the file. At this point your node should be fully configured and will only require a reboot to get it working.

As user root, reboot your raspi using the reboot command.

reboot

Once your raspi comes back online, login using SSH as user repeater and then become root user using the sudo command detailed above.

You now need to create the admin user password for the Allstar Monitor web page on the device. This is done using the following commands as user root:

cd /var/www/html/
htpasswd -c .htpasswd admin

You will be asked to enter a password twice for the admin user, make sure you make a note of this password as you will need it to login to the web page.

Once this is done your configuration is complete, logout from the terminal session by entering exit twice (once to logout as user root and another to logout as user repeater).

Using your favourite web browser enter the IP Address of your raspi into the URL bar as shown below:

http://<Your-Raspi-IP>/allmon2

Note: remove the <> from the URL once you have entered the required information.

Once this is done you should be presented with your node control panel as shown below.

Login using Admin and the password you set above and you are now ready to start using your node.

It’s a good idea to connect to node 55553 which is a parrot test node to check your audio levels. you can do this by entering the node into the field at the top left and pressing the connect button.

Once connected, tune your radio to 438.800Mhz FM and transmit a test message using your callsign and test123, or something similar. The parrot will then play your recording back to you so that you can hear how you sound. It will also comment on your audio level as to whether it is OK or not.

You are now connected to AllStarLink network and have the world at your finger tips. Below is a small list of nodes in the UK, Australia and America to get you started chatting with other HAMs via your node.

55553	ASL Parrot for testing
41522	M0HOY HUBNet Manchester, UK
60349	VK6CIA 439.275 Perth, Western Australia
51077	VK6SEG South West Hub B Albany WA
2167	M0JKT FreeSTAR UK HUB 2 freestar.network
53573	NWAG NW AllStar Group Lancashire, UK
27339	East Coast Hub Wilmington NC USA

Thanks to Michael, DK1MI for building and hosting the Matrix HAM Radio Space AllStarLink Node (57881) and getting us all kicked off into the world of AllStarLink!

We hope to be having regular Matrix Net’s on the node soon for all Matrix members and visitors. We’ll organise days/times via the Digital Voice room.

More soon …

A couple of years ago I built a Matrix Synapse server and connected it to the decentralised global Matrix chat network that is federated world wide by enthusiasts who host their own Matrix servers. Due to the enthusiasm for a decentralised network the Matrix has grown exponentially and is now an established force in the world of Opensource global communication services.

When I built my server and configured it online my aim was to bring together an enthusiastic group of Radio Amateurs (Radio HAMs) who could build a friendly, welcoming community where people could share, learn and have fun with other liked minded individuals without all the nonsense you see on commercial social media platforms.

Overtime we’ve increased the number of rooms available in the HAM Radio space and the number of subjects covered. This has grown organically as our community has grown and we’ve ventured together into new areas of the hobby.

From the community a number of projects have spawned including the Opensource.radio Wiki that Mike, DK1MI is sponsoring that aims to detail all the Opensource HAM Radio software, Hardware and projects in one centralised site on the internet. This is a great project and one I am very happy to contribute to.

Thanks to Mike, DK1MI we now also have our own Matrix AllStarLink node available. This is a great resource for the community as it is often not possible for all of us to communicate via the radio waves due to geo-location, time zones, local planning regulations etc. Having this 24/7 internet based resource makes it a lot easier for the community to chat at any time even when propagation on the HF bands isn’t in our favour.

Mike, DK1MI has written an excellent article on the Matrix AllStarNode and more, I highly recommend you take a look at it.

We also have a very active satellite room with regular nets on the QO-100 satellite. With such a great range of rooms and subjects there’s plenty to read and talk about with the community.

If you fancy being part of this growing, enthusiastic group of Radio Amateurs and Short Wave Listeners (SWLs) then click on the link below and come and say hello, a warm welcome awaits!

https://m0aws.co.uk/matrix

More soon …

Meshtastic is a relatively new thing in the internet of things (IOT) world and is gaining traction in the U.K. at the moment.

So what is Meshtastic?

Meshtastic is an open source, off-grid, decentralised mesh network built to run on affordable, low-power devices on the 868Mhz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band. (Some devices can also run on the 433Mhz 70cm HAM band.)

The ISM band is licence free but, has limits on the RF power levels that can be used. The one plus over the HAM bands is that you can legally transfer encrypted messages over the ISM band making it secure.

The best way to think of Meshtastic is a radio version of the online decentralised Matrix chat system but, without the large server requirements and ever growing database!

There are quite a few Meshtastic compatible devices on the market today with many costing around the £20 mark whilst others like the LillyGo T-Echo costing over £100 in the U.K. even though they are less than half the price in the USA.

Since I’m just starting out on my Meshtastic adventure I thought I’d start with a pair of Heltec ESP32 v3 devices that are normally readily available on Amazon but, due to the current push to build a U.K. wide mesh, they are currently out of stock pretty much everywhere.

Loading the Meshtastic firmware onto the devices is fairly straight forward and can be done using the web installer via either the Edge or Chromium web browsers.
(Note: If using Windows O/S you will need to install some drivers from the Meshtastic website to be able to communicate with the devices)

Having neither of the two browsers and being a Linux command line junkie I decided to use the Python programme to load the firmware onto the two devices. It’s worth noting that you don’t need any drivers to be able to communicate with the devices if you’re using either Debian or one of the many Ubuntu flavours of Linux O/S.

Using the Python command line program sounds like a more complicated approach but, in reality it’s super simple, extremely reliable, quick and if like me you use a Linux PC in the radio shack then you most likely already have most of what you need to get the job done. Just follow the simple steps as laid out on the Meshtastic web site and you’ll have the firmware loaded in no time at all.

The firmware takes less than a minute to copy across to the Heltec device and is automatically rebooted ready for configuration once the transfer has completed.

It is possible to configure the device via the command line tool however, since there is a nice GUI app for both Apple iOS and Android devices I decided to install the Meshtastic app on my iPad and connect to the device via Bluetooth to configure it.

Once you’ve got the Meshtastic app installed on your device and have connected via Bluetooth you’ll be ready to start configuring the device to join the mesh. The first thing you want to do is set the region. This is different in each country but, in the UK we use the EU_868 region settings. This will set the device to use the 868Mhz ISM band which is the band being used to build the U.K. wide mesh.

There is a multitude of configuration options within the app which I will go into in greater detail in a series of articles at a later date.

For those of you that, like me aren’t near any other nodes you can connect the devices to the internet and use the Meshtastic MQTT server to communicate with other nodes. This of course isn’t off-grid but, it will get you started until the mesh grows into your local area at which point your device will automatically start communicating with the other nodes over radio.

Once you are connected to either the MQTT server or other nodes via radio you will see the other node details appear in the Meshtastic app. It’s interesting to look at the information and see signal strengths and traffic levels etc for each node.

There are a multitude of cases available for the Heltec v3 devices, especially if you have access to a 3D printer. One of the nicest cases I have seen is the Bender from IKB3D (I know, it’s a strange name!) but, it really is a super little case for the Heltec series of devices.

You can either buy the 3D print files for £8.99 and print it yourself or just order a pre-printed and assembled case directly from the website although, due to demand there is a long lead time currently.

More soon …

We are excited to announce that we are celebrating yet another significant milestone for the SatNOGS project as the SatNOGS DB stored its 200 millionth data frame!!!

The milestone data frame

The 200 millionth frame was received on the 31st of October. It was a frame of satellite 47438 – UVSQ-SAT that was received by ground station 2760 – M0GKK-BB. And it was observation #8429588 for the SatNOGS Network.

We can only be thrilled with the enormity of this massive number, and we are also very grateful for these contributions. Congratulations to all for reaching such a fantastic milestone!

The SatNOGS DB

The SatNOGS DB is a component of the SatNOGS project, and it is a collaborative effort to create a holistic, unified, global database for all the artificial objects in space. A point of reference for all the satellites and spacecraft. Data frames are sent to the SatNOGS DB from stations belonging to the SatNOGS Network, as well as independent stations and telemetry forwarders. The SatNOGS DB receives frames from more than 1500 stations around the globe. Tracking over 1650 satellites and 3040+ transmitters in 50 different modes and ten bands. All these add up to the amazing 200 Million data frames received. Thus constituting the SatNOGS DB, the biggest, open-source and crowd-sourced database for openly distributed satellite data.

The Libre Space Manifesto

Like all the Libre Space Foundation projects, the SatNOGS DB also adheres to the principles of the Libre Space Manifesto. Supporting and promoting Openness (Open development and governance, open data, open-source, and free access to Space) with dedication to enhancing knowledge and scientific research.

The SatNOGS Community

SatNOGS is brought to life and expanding because of the unceasing collaboration, devotion, and ongoing contribution of its community. The latter is comprised of a vast network of space enthusiasts, radio amateurs, university teams, satellite operators and ground station owners. All the members and the open-source supporters who make up the SatNOGS Community add to the project’s success.

To all of you, we are whole-heartedly grateful!

Do you want to join SatNOGS and be part of the next Milestone?

If the SatNOGS project has sparked your interest, and you love space and open-source technologies, then there are many ways you can contribute. You can help with the SatNOGS DB by joining the SatNOGS Network, setting up a station or forwarding the frames to the SatNOGS DB through the SiDS protocol. You can also opt to create decoders to help us decode the load of data received and visualise them on the SatNOGS Dashboard. If you are fluent in Python and/or JS, you can contribute to the satnogs-db web application.

The SatNOGS Community is a global, diverse, inclusive, collaborative, open community that welcomes people from different backgrounds. People who wish to contribute by devoting their valuable time, ideas, knowledge and expertise to the SatNOGS project. If this appeals to you, you can start by checking the SatNOGS knowledge-base wiki. You are also welcome to join our community forums and drop us a line on the chat. Get in touch with us!

We are looking forward to having you onboard the SatNOGS project and community. Join us now so that you are part of our next Milestone!

Thank you!

The SatNOGS Network has achieved yet another amazing Milestone! It has reached its eight millionth observation, and we are deeply grateful to the entire Community for this achievement!

Eight million Observations

On the 11th of August 2023, observation #8000000 was uploaded on the SatNOGS Network by station 2173 – PE0SAT-21 in the Netherlands. The observation was scheduled by Jan Van Gils (PE0SAT), receiving data from satellite TigriSat. The eight millionth observation is of good quality.

It is an observation coming from an operational satellite that has been making its way through space for almost ten years.

TigriSat

TigriSat is a 3U CubeSat built by Iraqi students in collaboration with the La Sapienza University of Rome. Its mission is to detect dust storms over Iraq. For this, the CubeSat features an RGB camera. It was launched into space by the Dniepr launch vehicle from Orenburg, Russia, on June 19, 2014. TigriSat is considered to be Iraq’s first satellite.

SatNOGS achieved another milestone!

We are thrilled that SatNOGS has achieved another astonishing Milestone. Everything accomplished is thanks to the active and vibrant community. As is the case, every SatNOGS achievement results from the collaborative work and the continuous efforts made by hundreds of ground station owners around the globe. They are the ones who have made this milestone (and everything) possible by scheduling observations, tracking satellites and, in general, dedicating time and effort to the success of the SatNOGS project.

SatNOGS in Numbers

The SatNOGS network counts over 240+ fully operational ground stations and 150+ in testing mode. The observations come from 1545+ satellites and 2890+ transmitters delivering over 192M data frames. As the numbers show, SatNOGS has significantly expanded and has become the biggest, global, open-source network of satellite ground stations.

Outer Space Open For All (The Libre Space Manifesto)

All Libre Space Foundation’s projects are built to enhance scientific research and knowledge about Space and to enable everyone interested in exploring Space for peaceful purposes. These values are also at the core of the Libre Space Manifesto.

Outer Space Open For All (the SatNOGS way)

Abiding by the Libre Space Manifesto values, SatNOGS is a project that not only is built and developed in a modular, open-source way but also the data collected is distributed openly. The SatNOGS community offers support and guidance in onboarding new members and even helps satellite teams with their missions. Throughout its years of operation, SatNOGS has helped hundreds of Satellite Teams from all over the world to successfully identify and track their satellite. The community and its members assist missions from all corners of the world to run their experiments and tests and successfully complete their missions. Not only can the community help you communicate with your satellite as it schedules around 10,000 observations per day, but it can also guide you throughout the onboarding process. Guide you through the actions you need to take and help you with creating and populating the dashboard of your mission with the data received. All you need to do is contact the SatNOGS team early on and provide the necessary details and information about your mission.

Want to join the SatNOGS community and be part of the next Milestone?

The SatNOGS community is open and inclusive, welcoming everyone who wishes to contribute their time, knowledge and expertise to the project. If SatNOGS has sparked your interest and you want to learn more, check out the SatNOGS wiki knowledge base. You can drop us a line on the community forums and the dedicated SatNOGS chat. We would love to hear from you and have you join the SatNOGS network and community and be part of the next million observations.

Join SatNOGS now and help make Outer Space Open for All!

I’ve been active on QO-100 for a few days now and I have to admit that I’m really pleased with the way the ground station is performing. I’m getting a good strong, quality signal into the satellite along with excellent audio reports from my Icom IC-705 and the standard fist mic.

I’m very pleased with the performance of the NooElec v5 SDR receiver that I’m now using in place of the Funcube Dongle Pro+ SDR receiver. Being able to see the entire bandwidth of the satellite transponder on the waterfall in the GQRX SDR software is a huge plus too.

As can be seen on the map of contacts above, I’ve worked some interesting stations on some of the small islands in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The signals from these stations are incredibly strong on the satellite and an easy armchair copy.

DX of note are ZD7GWM on St. Helena Island in the South Atlantic Ocean, PP2RON and PY2WDX in Brazil, 8Q7QC on Naifaru Island in the Maldives, VU2DPN in Chennai India, 5H3SE/P in Tanzania Africa and 3B8BBI/P in Mauritius.

There are many EU stations on the satellite too and quite a few regular nets of German and French stations. I’ve not plucked up the courage to call into the nets yet, perhaps in the future.

There are a lot of very experienced satellite operators on QO-100 with a wealth of information to share. I’ve learnt a lot just from chatting with people with some conversations lasting well over 30mins, a rarity on the HAM bands today.

We also had our first Matrix QO-100 Net this week, an enjoyable hour of chat about all things radio and more. We have a growing community of Amateur Radio enthusiasts from around the world on the Matrix Chat Network with a broad spectrum of interests. If you fancy joining a dynamic community of radio enthusiasts then just click the link to download a chat client and join group.

More soon …

We are excited to share with you the news of SatNOGS achieving yet another milestone, as it has reached 7 million observations. 

On the 8th of January, observation #7000000 was uploaded on the SatNOGS Network by station 901 – VE2WI – UHF in Quebec, Canada. The observation was scheduled by Laurent Beaudet, the station owner, receiving data from AMSAT-OSCAR 7. Though the seven millionth observation is of a rather poor quality, it is, in fact, coming from a satellite that has been making its way through space for almost 50 years.

Satellite AMSAT-OSCAR 7 was launched on November 15, 1974, and by mid-1981, it had been rendered non-operational due to battery failure. It was almost 20 years later, in 2002, that it was brought back to life when one of the shorted batteries became an open circuit, and the satellite could operate again. This time using solar panels. What this means is that when in eclipse, the satellite cannot supply enough power to the transmitter to modulate the signal. When continuously illuminated, though, the mode will alternate between A and B every 24 hours. AMSAT-OSCAR 7 became SatNOGS‘s 7 millionth observation 20 years after its resurrection and 49 years after its deployment.

SatNOGS has achieved yet another astonishing Milestone, all thanks to its community. This is the result of the collaborative work and the continuous efforts made by hundreds of ground station owners around the globe. They are the ones who have made this milestone possible by scheduling observations, tracking satellites and, in general, dedicating time and effort to the success of the SatNOGS project.

So let us celebrate this Milestone by taking a closer look at some of the highlights of 2022 for SatNOGS and for everything the SatNOGS Community has achieved in the past year.

SatNOGS Highlights 2022

SatNOGS in Numbers

• Hunting satellites of 26 different launches: the SatNOGS Network was there at almost all the big launches of the year, ready to schedule observations and hunt satellites. Among the launches for which we scheduled observations were SpaceX’s Transporter 3, Transporter 4 and Transporter 5, ELaNa 38, ELaNa41, JAXA’s JSSOD20, 21, 22, 23, ISRO,  Jielong-3, Vega C the Inaugural Flight, S4 Crossover – Astra Rocket LV0009, Chang Zheng-2D, and Firefly Aerospace’s ToTheBlack mission. 
• Tracking more than 830 satellites.
• Making over 1.670.000 observations, an average of 4.5K observations per day.
• Scheduling a sizeable number of observations per deployment ….(There was a time in 2022 that we scheduled over 1800 observations for the first 48 hours of a launch…)

• On average, receiving the first signals of the satellites within the first few hours of their deployment.

• Contributing to missions with more than 11K observations.. the GASPACS mission was one such mission…

• Collaborating with International satellite teams from over 15 countries (Brasil, USA, Spain, Italy, France, Luxemburg, Germany, Finland, Turkey, Israel, UAE, India, Nepal, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan) and more than 20 Universities from around the world.

Celebrations and Goodbyes…

In 2022, SatNOGS and its Community celebrated anniversaries together as satellites continued their lonely yet magical journey through space.

and…

And bid goodbye to satellites that travelled in space and re-entered gloriously.

and

But we were not saddened…

As many of the satellites provided us with wonderful images before they disappeared…

RamSat, a CubeSat built by the students of the Robertsville Middle School in Oak Ridge (Oak Ridge Public Schools), Tennessee, USA, with the supervision and mentorship of the Oak Ridge National Lab, provided us with some breathtaking photos…

and enlighted us with their insightful analyses that taught us beautiful things about space and satellites. The RamSat team was kind enough to share with the SatNOGS Community their findings during RamSat’s quest in space. The team shared some detailed analyses and helpful lessons learned. Among these analyses falls their input on the extreme temperatures RamSat experienced in space due to the intense conditions. https://community.libre.space/t/ramsat-mission-progress/8219/52.  

Tracking our very own…

Among the year’s highlights was the return to space of the Libre Space Foundation. It was a moment of great excitement for the LSF team to track the QUBIK mission. To hunt the PICOBUS deployer and PocketQubes, QUBIK-3 and QUBIK-4, as they made it to orbit onboard Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha Flight 2.

Art and SatNOGS

A few months before 2022 was gone, Nye Thompson, a visual artist and a member of the SatNOGS Community, began working on an experimental art project using SatNOGS.

The project uses SSTV transmitted via a satellite as a way to generate and distribute new images. It’s also a kind of networked performance with the satellite.

You can find more details about how you can contribute to SatNOGS art in the dedicated thread on the Community Forum.

Wrapping up …

2022 was a great year for SatNOGS as the Network, and the DB continued to grow, and its Community kept expanding. SatNOGS has now proudly reached over 400 ground stations spread in 50 countries across the globe, having tracked 1177 satellites, 2180 transmitters, 165 million data frames and 7 million observations. It thus remains the world’s biggest open-source network of satellite ground stations.

Led by a Community that fosters collaboration, inclusivity and diversity, SatNOGS welcomes everyone who wishes to contribute their time, knowledge and expertise to the project. A project built and developed to enhance scientific research, knowledge about Space and to enable everyone interested, to explore Space for peaceful purposes, as the Libre Space Manifesto states explicitly.

You are welcome to join the project too, and be part of our next Milestone as we work hard to make…..

Outer Space Open For all!

We are excited to share with you, the new milestone achieved by the SatNOGS network, as it has reached 6.000.000 observations!

On the 27th of May, observation #6000000 was uploaded on the SatNOGS network by station 1936 – VK4JBE-UHF, in Camp Hill, Queensland, Australia . The observation was scheduled by VK4JBE, the station owner, receiving data from AAUSAT-II, a Danish CubeSat of the University of Aalborg. Although the satellite is operational, it seems to be tumbling in space, resulting in generating rather poor observations.

Achieving the astonishing 6 Millionth Observation is a Milestone that SatNOGS has reached thanks to its community. This too is the result of the collaborative work and the continuous efforts made by hundreds of ground station owners around the globe. They are the ones who have made this milestone possible, by scheduling observations, tracking satellites and in general, dedicating time and effort to the success of the SatNOGS project. So let us take a closer look at some of the astonishing statistics of the project.

SatNOGS in Numbers

The SatNOGS network counts over 265+ fully operational ground stations and 145+ in testing mode. The observations come from 810+ satellites and 1500+ transmitters having delivered over 144M data frames. As the numbers show, SatNOGS has expanded greatly and has become the biggest, global, open-source network of satellite ground stations.

Outer Space Open For all

SatNOGS, much like all Libre Space Foundation’s projects, is built to enhance scientific research, and knowledge about Space, and to enable everyone interested, to explore Space for peaceful purposes. These are all, values that are at the core of the Libre Space Manifesto and guide SatNOGS too.

Thus, the project itself is not only built and developed in a modular, open-source way but the data collected is also distributed openly. The community offers support and guidance in onboarding new members and it even helps satellite teams with their missions. Not only can the community help you communicate with your satellite but they can also guide you throughout the onboarding process. All you need to do is contact the team and provide the necessary details and information about your mission.

Want to join the SatNOGS community and be part of the next million observations?

The SatNOGS community is open and inclusive, welcoming everyone who wishes to contribute their time, knowledge and expertise to the project. If SatNOGS has sparked your interest and you want to find out more, check out the SatNOGS wiki knowledge base. You are welcome to drop us a line on the community forums and the dedicated SatNOGS chat. We would love to hear from you and have you join the SatNOGS network and community.

Join SatNOGS now!