 |
| Four satellites carrying amateur radio transponders were launched together from California on Jan. 31. (NASA Photo) |
Four
NASA satellites carrying ham radio transponders were launched on January 31
from California, along with NASA's "Soil Moisture Active Passive," or
SMAP, satellite. SMAP is designed to map the amount of moisture in surface soil
(a.k.a. mud) around the globe. According to the ARRL, its synthetic aperture
radar will operate at 1.26 GHz, within the 23-centimeter ham band (ham radio is
secondary on the band).
The four other satellites all are studying various
aspects of space weather and operate on 437 MHz, within the 70-centimeter
amateur band. Hams will be able to monitor their telemetry but there is no
indication that any of them include transponders for two-way amateur
communication.
