{"id":57182,"date":"2023-07-06T06:10:24","date_gmt":"2023-07-06T10:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=57182"},"modified":"2023-07-06T08:00:10","modified_gmt":"2023-07-06T12:00:10","slug":"spaceweather-com-radio-amateurs-hack-a-nasa-spacecraft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/07\/spaceweather-com-radio-amateurs-hack-a-nasa-spacecraft\/","title":{"rendered":"Spaceweather.com: “Radio Amateurs Hack a NASA Spacecraft” and Sunspot High for Cycle 25"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributors, Troy Riedel and Jock Elliott, who share the following news items from Spaceweather.com<\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n

RADIO AMATEURS HACK A NASA SPACECRAFT:<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>Ham radio operators are picking up a strong signal from space. It’s NASA’s STEREO-A spacecraft returning home after 17 years.<\/p>\n

“I’m having fun with STEREO-A,” reports Scott Tilley (VE7TIL) of Roberts Creek, British Columbia. “The spacecraft is coming close to Earth this summer, and I can now receive its signal using a small\u00a026-inch dish<\/a>\u00a0in my backyard.” Here is what he picked up on July 2nd:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“We caught an X-flare in progress,” Tilley says. “Naked-eye sunspot AR3354 was really crackling.”<\/p>\n

STEREO-A left Earth on Oct. 26, 2006, launched from Cape Canaveral with its sister ship STEREO-B. Both spacecraft were on a mission to the far side of the sun. Over the years, they would circle behind behind the sun, beaming images back to Earth so scientists could make 3D models of solar activity. In 2014, STEREO-B failed and was not heard from again. STEREO-A kept going, and now it is on its way back. [Continue reading at Spaceweather.com…<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n

Also…<\/strong><\/p>\n

SUNSPOT COUNTS HIT A 21-YEAR HIGH:<\/strong><\/span> The sun is partying like it’s 2002. That’s the last time sunspot counts were as high as they are now. The monthly average sunspot number for June 2023 was 163, according to the Royal Observatory of Belgium’s Solar Influences Data Analysis Center. This eclipses every month since Sept. 2022:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Solar Cycle 25 wasn’t expected to be this strong. When it began in Dec. 2019, forecasters believed it would be a weak cycle akin to its immediate predecessor Solar Cycle 24. If that forecast had panned out, Solar Cycle 25 would be one of the weakest solar cycles in a century.<\/p>\n

Instead, Solar Cycle 25 has shot past Solar Cycle 24 and may be on pace to rival some of the stronger cycles of the 20th century. The last time sunspot numbers were this high, the sun was on the verge of launching the Great Halloween Storms of 2003, which included the strongest X-ray solar flare ever recorded (X45), auroras as far south as Texas, and a CME so powerful it was ultimately detected by the Voyager spacecraft at the edge of the solar system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors, Troy Riedel and Jock Elliott, who share the following news items from Spaceweather.com: RADIO AMATEURS HACK A NASA SPACECRAFT:\u00a0Ham radio operators are picking up a strong signal from space. It’s NASA’s STEREO-A spacecraft returning home after 17 years. “I’m having fun with STEREO-A,” reports Scott Tilley (VE7TIL) of Roberts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[545,3,810],"tags":[811],"class_list":["post-57182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ham-radio","category-news","category-space-weather","tag-spaceweather"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-eSi","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19875,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/07\/nasas-juno-spacecraft-approaches-jupiter\/","url_meta":{"origin":57182,"position":0},"title":"NASA’s Juno Spacecraft Approaches Jupiter","author":"Thomas","date":"July 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"SWLing Post readers might recall the Juno spacecraft we featured in a post dating back to October, 2013. During an Earth flyby, NASA invited ham radio operators\u00a0around the world to say \u201cHI\u201d to Juno in a coordinated Morse Code message. It was a unique opportunity for sure, and I made\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Juno-NASA","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Juno-NASA-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Juno-NASA-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Juno-NASA-1024x576.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":34548,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/10\/radio-enthusiasts-receive-images-from-the-longjiang-2-in-lunar-orbit\/","url_meta":{"origin":57182,"position":1},"title":"Radio enthusiasts receive images from the Longjiang-2 in lunar orbit","author":"Thomas","date":"October 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Eric McFadden (WD8RIF) who shares the following story from The Planetary Society: Earlier this week, on October 10, radio amateurs all around the world worked together to get the Chinese Longjiang-2 spacecraft to take an image of the Earth and the far side of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Longjiang-2-Image.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Longjiang-2-Image.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Longjiang-2-Image.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7539,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/10\/work-the-nasa-spacecraft-juno-tomorrow-and-get-a-qsl-card\/","url_meta":{"origin":57182,"position":2},"title":"Work the NASA Spacecraft Juno (and get a QSL card)!","author":"Thomas","date":"October 8, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Troy, who emailed us about a really fun and unique opportunity for amateur radio operators:\u00a0 to send the NASA spacecraft Juno\u00a0a Morse Code greeting [specifically, \"HI\"] when it\u00a0passes over Earth tomorrow, starting around 18:00 UTC. The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory explains: \"NASA's Juno spacecraft\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"EFB_publicmap1-675","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/EFB_publicmap1-675-300x148.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":59563,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/04\/radio-waves-heba-antenna-approval-eclipse-time-signal-shift-a-novices-guide-to-amateur-radio-astronomy-and-voyager-1-sending-data-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":57182,"position":3},"title":"Radio Waves: HEBA Antenna Approval, Eclipse Time Signal Shift, A Novice’s Guide to Amateur Radio Astronomy, and Voyager 1 Sending Data Again!","author":"Thomas","date":"April 24, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Radio Waves:\u00a0 Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Welcome to the\u00a0SWLing Post\u2019s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio.\u00a0Enjoy! Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Alan, Dan, and Rich Cuff for the following tips: WQVR(AM) Is Granted CP to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Atwater-Kent-Dial.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Atwater-Kent-Dial.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Atwater-Kent-Dial.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Atwater-Kent-Dial.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Atwater-Kent-Dial.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":27663,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/08\/the-voyager-twins-weak-signals-and-discovery-from-the-depths-of-space\/","url_meta":{"origin":57182,"position":4},"title":"The Voyager twins: weak signals and discovery from the depths of space","author":"Thomas","date":"August 20, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, while listening to the BBC World Service, I heard this fascinating documentary focusing on the Voyager I and II spacecraft. It absolutely blows my mind that both of these spacecraft have been operating for 40 years and continue to send signals back to Earth. 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