Can radio transmissions between space shuttles and ground control be picked up by shortwave radio?
Yes, radio transmissions between space shuttles and ground control can be picked up by shortwave radio. Amateur radio operators at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, retransmit shuttle space-to-ground radio conversations on shortwave frequencies. These retransmissions can be heard around the world. To hear astronauts talking with ground controllers during liftoff, flight, and landing, a shortwave radio capable of receiving single-sideband signals should be tuned to frequencies of 3.860, 7.185, 14.295, and 21.395 megahertz. British physics teacher Geoffrey Perry, at the Kettering Boys School, has taught his students how to obtain readings from orbiting Russian satellites. Since the early 1960s Perry’s students have been monitoring Russian space signals with a simple taxicab radio. They…
