![]() ![]() Both are connected by fibre to the main NASA communications hub.įor events in Europe, NASA’s TV desk sends the pictures via a domestic satellite to Toronto, then via a transatlantic satellite to the venue. Signals from TDRS are received at two NASA facilities on Earth: one at White Sands, New Mexico, and one on Guam in the Pacific. The International Space Station orbits the Earth at an average distance of about 400 kilometres, and relies on geostationary satellites for communication with the ground. These have data rates similar to a home fibre internet connection. To maintain the data link, NASA has a small constellation of satellites, known as Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS), which enable near constant communication between the ground and orbiting satellites. Since the space station crosses the horizon every 4 minutes, it is impossible to track using ground stations. How does the International Space Station communicate with Earth? But setting up the video link and broadcasting live pictures from low Earth orbit is no easy feat. They don’t get to see pictures from the event. When NASA sets up a video link to Earth like at New Scientist Live, astronauts only get to hear the audio side of the call. ![]() The phone number at NASA Johnson Space Center is +1 28, but your chances of getting through to the ISS are slim. If someone does need to “call” the ISS, operators at mission control centres simply relay the audio through a telephone line to Houston into the very high frequency space-to-ground radio network. Phones on the ground cannot call them back, however.Īstronauts also have tablet computers that they can use to send emails, and although some do send tweets from orbit, these are normally emailed to their communications teams on the ground, who do the posting. For private calls, the space station has an internet-connected phone system that works through a computer, which astronauts can use to call any number on Earth. It has no phone number in the traditional sense, and astronauts have to leave their smartphones at home. Unfortunately, it isn’t possible to call, Skype or WhatsApp the ISS. Can you call the International Space Station? ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |