{"id":273769,"date":"2023-08-15T20:24:11","date_gmt":"2023-08-15T18:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=273769"},"modified":"2023-08-15T20:24:15","modified_gmt":"2023-08-15T18:24:15","slug":"ham-radio-operators-hack-a-nasa-spacecraft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=273769","title":{"rendered":"Ham Radio Operators Hack a NASA\u00a0Spacecraft"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Spaceweather.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From DR.TONY PHILLIPS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

July 5, 2023<\/strong>\u00a0(Spaceweather.com<\/a>): Ham radio operators are picking up a strong signal from space. It\u2019s NASA\u2019s STEREO-A spacecraft returning home after 17 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m having fun with STEREO-A,\u201d reports Scott Tilley (VE7TIL) of Roberts Creek, British Columbia. \u201cThe spacecraft is coming close to Earth this summer, and I can now receive its signal using a small\u00a026-inch dish<\/a>\u00a0in my backyard.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here is what he picked up on July 2nd:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

See also an\u00a0animated version<\/a>\u00a0of these data. The X-flare is\u00a0right here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe caught an X-flare in progress,\u201d Tilley says. \u201cNaked-eye sunspot AR3354 was really crackling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

STEREO-A left Earth on Oct. 26, 2006, launched from Cape Canaveral with its sister ship STEREO-B. Both spacecraft were on a mission to the farside of the sun. Over the years, they would circle behind behind the sun, beaming images back to Earth so scientists could make 3D models of solar activity. In 2014, STEREO-B failed and was not heard from again. STEREO-A kept going, and now it is on its way back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Above:\u00a0<\/strong>STEREO-A coronagraph images of Mercury passing the sun, eavesdropped by Scott Tilley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this summer, Tilley began hearing rumors that other radio operators were picking up signals from STEREO-A at 8443.580 MHz. He decided to check it out. \u201cThe\u00a0central carrier<\/a>\u00a0is very loud, almost 30dB above the noise,\u201d he says. \u201cI also noticed data sidebands, which are unusual to see on such a distant object for my small antenna.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first, the signal was indecipherable. But Tilley found lots of information about its format posted by NASA on public websites; it wasn\u2019t a secret. Using a program called \u201cSatDump<\/a>\u201d written by Alan Antoine (F4LAU), he successfully demodulated the data. Now Tilley is monitoring data streams from almost all of STEREO-A\u2019s science instruments including its extreme ultraviolet imager (EUVI), two coronagraphs (COR1 and COR2), the heliospheric imager (HI) and a solar radio burst receiver (S\/WAVES).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At closest approach on August 17th, STEREO-A will be only 0.05 AU (7.5 million km) from Earth. By then, signals from the spacecraft will have more than doubled in strength, making it even easier to \u201chack.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat started out as a passing curiosity is now turning into a summer pastime,\u201d says Tilley. \u201cThis is a unique time to play with STEREO-A.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hams, would\u00a0you<\/em>\u00a0like to monitor STEREO-A? A technical blog post just published by Tilley explains exactly\u00a0how to do it<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ham radio operators are picking up a strong signal from space. It\u2019s NASA\u2019s STEREO-A spacecraft returning home after 17 years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":273780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691821862,691821861],"class_list":["post-273769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-nasa-spacecraft","tag-x-flare","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0Screenshot-2023-08-15-202007.png?fit=911%2C662&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-19dD","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":291260,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=291260","url_meta":{"origin":273769,"position":0},"title":"The Geminids are Still a\u00a0Mystery","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"12\/14\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"A paper published in the\u00a0Planetary Science Journal\u00a0reports a surprising new twist in the mystery of the Geminids, a strong annual meteor shower that has puzzled astronomers for more than a century.","rel":"","context":"In \"3200 Phaethon\"","block_context":{"text":"3200 Phaethon","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=3200-phaethon"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0nomoon2_crop.webp?fit=1024%2C969&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0nomoon2_crop.webp?fit=1024%2C969&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0nomoon2_crop.webp?fit=1024%2C969&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0nomoon2_crop.webp?fit=1024%2C969&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":254404,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=254404","url_meta":{"origin":273769,"position":1},"title":"An Earth-Directed Explosion on the Sun","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"04\/24\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Earth is in the strike zone. 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