The space station is just a ham radio call away

Have you ever wanted to talk to an astronaut orbiting hundreds of miles above Earth? Wouldn’t it be nice to ask about the view from the International Space Station? If you’re active on Twitter and a fan of all things space-related, you’re probably following a number of astronauts, usually designated by the “Astro” in their handles. These social media-savvy space explorers have given us a lot of insight into life in zero gravity from their tweets. But Twitter isn’t the only way to reach out to the ISS.

There’s another, perhaps more personal, way to connect with the astronauts, and people have been doing it for years. All over the world, some amateur radio enthusiasts — known as “hams” — have made a hobby out of making contact with the ISS. The goal is to enjoy short conversations with astronauts from the comfort of their own ham radio setups.

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