“Space Sailors” Seeking Download Help from Ham Radio Operators

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A group of students at Cornell University is seeking participation from radio amateurs who are equipped with satellite stations for help in listening for signals from a retroreflective laser sail that is scheduled to be deployed later this week. The sail is currently attached to a 1U CubeSat that was launched early Tuesday 2nd December 2025, from the International Space Station, but will separate and become its own free-flying spacecraft equipped with four tiny “ChipSat” flight computers that will transmit telemetry data back to Earth.

This is the first flight of their ChipSats, and it is this data that the students seek help detecting, according to Ph.D. candidate Joshua Umansky-Castro, who has an amateur radio license, call sign KD2WTQ. The light sail’s ChipSats will be transmitting data using the LoRa® digital protocol on 437.400 MHz. The sail, stowed within the CubeSat, is expected be released a couple of days after deployment — tentatively this Thursday 4th December 2025 — and will likely function independently for no more than 48 hours due to the drag created by the sail.

Additional information, including LoRa parameters and links to a list of compatible receivers and the decoder file, may be found at alphacubesat.cornell.edu in the ChipSat Ground Station Guide (docx).

It is hoped that the ChipSat and light sail will become the trailblazer for future missions around the solar system, and one day to our closest stellar neighbour, Alpha Centauri.

ARISS Video Promotes School Contacts Through ISS and Amateur Radio

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ARISS has released a new video promoting amateur radio on the International Space Station (ISS). Produced by NASA, the video features astronaut Nichole Ayers (KJ5GWI) aboard the ISS explaining how amateur radio plays a part in school contacts with astronauts on the ISS. Ayers explains many of the procedures and technical challenges that amateur radio operators must address during a school contact.

“It’s a true privilege for me to be able to inspire the new generation of scientists and engineers through amateur radio.”
— Astronaut Nichole Ayers (KJ5GWI)

ARISS is asking for donations as part of its Giving Tuesday campaign. Those interested in donating to ARISS can do so here - https://www.ariss.org/

New Restrictions for Short-Range UHF Radios in Germany

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New Restrictions for Short-Range UHF Radios in Germany

In Germany, amateur radio may get an unintended boost following major restrictions that the nation's regulator has placed on the use of private mobile short-range hand-held radios known as PMR446.

PMR446, the popular short-range UHF radios enjoyed in much of Europe, could be enjoyed much less in Germany this month after changes enacted by the regulator BNetZa. The regulator will prohibit operators from using any external antennas with their radios and from using the radios as base stations.

PMR operators will also lose the ability to use their radios as repeaters or as Internet gateways -- two functions widely available to amateur radio operators. The PMR radios, which operate on 16 frequencies within the 446 MHz band, will be only be permitted to be used for so-called "peer-to-peer" or person-to-person mode.

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