Picture |
Object
name
#NORAD |
Description |
Launch
Date |
Weight |
|
Sputnik
1
Sputnik I
1957-001B
1957 Alpha 2
#00002 |
 This
first man made satellite in space was launched by USSR
into an elliptical orbit with an inclination of 65 degrees,
a perigee of 238 km and an apogee of 947 km. Sputnik
1 needed 96,2 minutes to circulate the Earth.  The
spherical satellite had a diameter of 58cm and carried
2 radio beacons transmitting on 20.005 MHz and 40.010
MHz. The batteries powering the transmitters had a lifetime
of 21 days. Sputnik 1 reentered the Earth's atmosphere
after 92 days and decayed on January 4th
1958. Recording kindly provided by Alois DL3PD.
|
Oct
4th 1957 |
83,6
kg |
On October
6th 1957  around
20:00 UTC Sputnik 1 was received on 20 MHz by Bayrische
Volkssternwarte in Munich. The recording was kindly
provided by Tobias Lindemann and Josef Huber. |
This
audio file was recorded by Roy  W0SL
in Dallas, Texas on October 7th,
1957 at 0457UTC using a military surplus AN/FRR3A HF
RTTY receiver tuned to 20.007 MHz. Thanks Roy for providing
this recording. |
This
recording is from an unknown German ham-radio amateur.
It was filtered and provided by Don P. Mitchell. |
An unknown
British SWL is commenting the reception of Sputnik 1
on October 11th 1957 at 10:58pm.
The original source of this recording is unknown. The
recording was kindly provided by Bill KA8VIT. (Please
note that this recording is 5MB large). |
|
Sputnik
2
Sputnik II
Physical lab
PS 2
1957-002A
1957 Beta 1
#00003 |
Sputnik
2 was the first spaceship which brought an animal in
space. The elliptical orbit had an apogee of 1770 km
and an apogee of 320 km. Sputnik II circulated the Earth
in 103,7 minutes.
Sputnik 2 was a three-part conical
satellite with a hight of 1.2m and was comprised of
the following sections:
- a cylindrical container
for scientific equipment
- a spherical container
for batteries, 2 transmitters and radiotelemetry systems
- a sealed cabin for the a dog named Laika
Laika
lived for one week and part of the downlink telemetry
was her heartbeat. She died on November 10th
1957 when oxygen in her capsule was exhausted.
Sputnik II transmitted for 7 days on the frequencies
20.005 MHz and 40.010 MHz.
Sputnik 2 decayed on
April 14th 1958. This recording
was provided by Alois DL3PD. |
Nov
3rd 1957 |
508
kg |
 In June
2010 I received from Dick W4PUJ
(ex WA4DGU) together
with a number of other unique audio recordings enclosed
recording of Sputnik II. Thanks Dick for providing this
recording.
|
|
Explorer
1
Explorer I
1958 Alpha 1
1958-001A
#00004 |
Explorer 1 was America's
first orbiting satellite. It was launched from Cape
Canaveral, Florida by an Army Jupiter C four stage rocket
into an elliptical orbit with an inclination of 33,3
degrees, a perigee of 320 km and an apogee of
2735 km. Explorer 1 circulated the Earth in 114,7 minutes.
The cylindrical satellite was 1.5m long and had
a diameter of 15cm.
Explorer 1 featured 2 transmitters.
The transmitter on 108,03 MHz had a transmit power of
60 mW and operated 14 days, the transmitter on 108,0
MHz had a transmit power of 10 mW and transmitted until
May 23rd 1958.
The transmissions
included information about the satellites temperature,
cosmic rays and micro-meteorites. In the second picture
to the left you can see a mesh of wires around the upper
part of the satellite. This was used to detect micro-meteorites.
Explorer 1 discovered the Van Allen radiation belt.
The batteries lasted about 3 months. Explorer
1 decayed on March 31st 1970. |
Jan
31st
1958 |
13,5
kg |
This recording
was made by Roy W0SL in Dallas, Texas on February 11th,
1958 at 01:00 UTC using a home-made VHF converter in
front of a National NC-300 receiver. This recording
was kindly provided by Roy W0SL. |
Another
recording of Explorer I was kindly provided by Dick
W4PUJ. |
|
Vanguard
1
1958 Beta 2
1958-002B
#00005 |
This
is the oldest man-made satellite which is still in orbit.
It is expected to last about another 190 years before
it finally decays. This spherical Navy test satellite
has a diameter of 16cm and was launched by a Vanguard
3-stage rocket into an elliptical orbit with an inclination
of 34,4 degrees, a perigee of 640 km and an apogee of
4020 km. The satellite had 2 power sources: the first
transmitter operated from a mercury cell supply and
had a life time of 3 weeks. Thanks to the fact that
this satellite was the first using solar cells the second
transmitter operated 6 years and 3 months. On February
21st 1965 it was declared to
be no more recognizable as the signal strength had declined
almost to zero. The output power of the transmitters
was 100mW (on 108.0 MHz) and 50mW (on 108.3 MHz) respectively.
The antenna system was comprised of 6 whip elements
each 30cm long. They made one turnstile antenna and
a dipole. The telemetry transmitted was the package
temperature indicated by the difference between the
two transmitter frequencies. Therefore, the recordings
were made with the receiver Beat Frequency Oscillator
(BFO) turned on in order to produce an audible tone
heard in the recordings. Thanks for the audio-file to
Roy W0SL. |
Mar
17th
1958 |
1.5
kg |
This recording
of Vanguard I was done while it was battery powered
and kindly provided by Dick W4PUJ. |
This recording
of Vanguard I was done while it was solar powered and
kindly provided by Dick W4PUJ. |
This recording
of Vanguard I was done after it was already 3 months
in operation and kindly provided by Dick W4PUJ. |
Vanguard
1 transmitted until February 21st
1965. This recording of Vanguard I was done after it
was already 1 year in operation and kindly provided
by Dick W4PUJ. |
|
Lunik
I
Luna 1
Mechta
1959-012A
#00112 |
Luna 1 was the first
of a series of Soviet automatic interplanetary stations
successfully launched in the direction of the Moon.
It actually landed on the Moon.
|
Jan
2nd 1959 |
361
kg |
This recording
of a Lunik probe was kindly provided by Dick W4PUJ.
It is possibly from Lunik I but we are not sure. It
could be also based on transmissions of Lunik II or
Lunik III. |
|
Vostok-3 No.1
Sputnik
9
Korabl Sputnik 4
1961-008A
#00091 |
This
Space Ship Vostok-3 No.1 carried a dog named Chernuska
in space. Besides Chernuska also onboard was a dummy
cosmonaut, mice and a guinea pig. The flight lasted
for a single orbit, and a successful recovery was made.
Recording provided by Alois DL3PD. |
Mar 9th
1961 |
4700 kg |
|
Russian
Spaceship
Vostok 1
1961-012A
#00103
(crew: Jurij Gagarin) |
The first
man in space: Jurij Gagarin. He circulated the Earth
in his Russian Spaceship Vostok 1 during his flight
which had a duration of 108 minutes. Recording provided
by Alois DL3PD. |
Apr
12th
1961 |
4725
kg |
Vinyl
single made in USSR
"12-IV 1961 CCCP Gagarin"
side 1 with Russian comments. Recording provided by
Maik Hermenau. |
Vinyl
single made in USSR
"12-IV 1961 CCCP Gagarin"
side 2 with German comments. Recording provided by Maik
Hermenau. |
Colorvox
"Schallbildkarte"
"Reportage über
den Weltraumflug Juri Gagarins". Recording provided
by Maik Hermenau. |
Report
in German language about the phase between the first
artificial satellite Sputnik 1 and the first man in
space Juri Gagarin. From a Schallfolie "Der Weg
in den Kosmos" which was provided in the 60s by
a Eastern German magazine called "Frösi".
Recording provided by Maik Hermenau. |
|
US Spaceship
Freedom 7
MR-3
MERCR3
(crew: Alan B.
Shepard Jr.) |
Alan B.
Shepard Jr. (1924-1998) was the first American in space.
His flight in a Mercury capsule on top of a Redstone-MRLV
rocket had a duration of 15 minutes and 28 seconds.
As this was a ballistic suborbital flight reaching an
altitude of 187 km it did not get a International nor
a NORAD designator. His recovery at sea was viewed on
live TV. 10 years later Al Shepard was the commander
of Apollo 14 and landed on the Moon. |
May 5th
1961 |
955 kg |
|
Russian
Spaceship
Vostok 2
Sputnik 12
1961-019A
#00168
(crew: Gherman S. Titov) |
Russian
Spaceship Vostok 2 (3KA-4) with cosmonaut Gherman S.
Titov was launched by a Vostok rocket from Baikonur
(U.S.S.R.) into an 166x232 km orbit with 65° inclination.
The flight lasted 1 day and 1 hour during with G.S.
Titov circulated the earth 17 times. |
Aug 6th
1961 |
4731 kg |
|
US
Spaceship
Friendship 7
Mercury Atlas 6
1962-003A
#00240
(crew: John Glenn) |
Report
in German language about the first US astronaut John
Glenn circulating the Earth. During his flight in MA
6 (Mercury Atlas 6) he circulated the Earth 3 times.
Heftbeilage der Hauszeitschrift "Die Brücke"
Nr.2 vom Oktober 1962 der Pharmazeutischen Medizinischen
Abteilung der Farbwerke Hoechst AG. Recording provided
by Maik Hermenau. |
Feb
20th
1962 |
1900
kg |
The voice
of John Glenn "Roger, zero G and I feel fine, capsule
is turning around". Recording courtesy of NASA. |
|
Apollo 8
first
manned mission to fly and orbit the Moon
(crew:
William Anders, James Lovell, Frank Borman)
CSM-103
1968-118A
#03626 |
Originally Apollo
8 wasn't going to the Moon but was supposed to have
a low-earth orbit to test the Lunar Module and Command
Module. However, since the Lunar Module wasn't ready,
NASA decided to change the mission objectives and send
Apollo 8 to orbit the Moon 10 times. The crew William
Anders, James Lovell and Frank Borman was retrained
in record time for a completely new mission. They were
the first three humans to see the dark side of the Moon
and their voyage was the first ever to escape Earth's
gravitational force and visit another celestial body.
On Christmas Eve 1968, when approaching lunar
sunrise, the 3 crew members sent a famous broadcast
message back to Earth when taking turns reading the
first 10 verses from the book of Genesis. Audio courtesy
of NASA (3MB). |
Dec 21st
1968 |
28817 kg |
|
Apollo
11
first manned mission to land on the moon
(crew: Neil. A. Armstrong, Edwin E. Aldrin, Michael
Collins)
Command & Service Module
CSM-107
1969-059A
#04039
Lunar Module
LM/EASEP
1969-059C
#04041 |
Apollo 11 was the first
manned mission to land on the moon. The LM (landing
module) spacecraft transmitted at S-band with a carrier
frequency of 2282.5 MHz both live television (FM modulated)
as well as telemetry (on PM modulated sub-carriers).
This communication system was collectively referred
to as the Unified S-Band Communication System. |
Jul
16th
1969 |
28801
kg |
The audio
file enclosed documents the successful launch sequence.
Recorded on July 16th 1969. |
The famous
words of Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon,
when he stepped on the moon. Recorded on July 20th 1969. |
The second
man to step on the moon was Edwin E. Aldrin.  This
video shows him climbing down the ladder. This video
was received by Parkes Observatory in Australia. Video
courtesy of NASA. |
President
Nixon  talks
with the Astronauts and wished for ".. peace and
tranquility on the Earth." This video was received
by Parkes Observatory in Australia. Video courtesy of
NASA. |
Vinyl
single "First man on the moon" side 1 includes
the speech of J.F.Kennedy announcing the plan to go
to the moon. Record provided by Maik Hermenau. |
Vinyl
single "First man on the moon" side 2 includes
the launch of Apollo 11 and landing of Eagle. Record
provided by Maik Hermenau. |
Part
1 of a report in German language about the first manned
mission to the moon, Vinyl LP "Original Dokumente
vom Weg zum Mond" war 1970 eine Beilageder Zeitschrift
"Bunte Illustrierte". Record provided by Maik
Hermenau (11 minutes). |
Part
2 of a report in German language about the first manned
mission to the moon, Vinyl LP "Original Dokumente
vom Weg zum Mond" war 1970 eine Beilageder Zeitschrift
"Bunte Illustrierte". Record provided by Maik
Hermenau (15 minutes). |
|
Apollo
12
(crew: Charles "Pete" Conrad,
Richard "Dick" F. Gordon, Alan L. "Al"
Bean)
CSM-108
1969-099A
#04225 |
This was
the 2nd mission of Apollo with
a landing on the moon. The rocket was struck twice (36
seconds and 52 seconds after launch) by a lightning.
You can hear the launch campain including the conversation
about the lightning strikes in the first audio recording.
The second
audio files documents communication between LM (the
lunar module with the nickname "Intrepid")
and Houston ground control during the final descent
phase (last 3 minutes) and the touch down on the moon
(110 h, 32 min and 36 sec mission elapsed time).
The crew returned safely on November 24th
1969.
I extracted the recordings from the NASA audio
collection.
 Alan
L. Bean was the 4th man on
the moon. After he left NASA he became an artist and
started painting beautiful scenes of the moon. Enclosed
a picture of himself which he named "A New Frontier".
|
Nov 14th 1969 |
28790 kg |
|
Apollo
13
aborted third manned mission to the moon
(crew: James A. Lovell, Jr., John L. Swigert, Jr., Fred
W. Haise, Jr. )
CSM-109
1970-029A
#04371 |
This aborted 3rd
manned mission to moon  ended
almost fatal. Due to an explosion of the oxygen tank
in the service module the mission had to be aborted
and luckily the crew returned safely on April 17th
1970. See here a short movie of the damaged service
module when clicking on the picture to the right. |
Apr 11th 1970 |
136077 kg |
Listen
to the famous words of J. Swigert after the explosion
of the tank: "Houston, we've had a problem here." |
|
Apollo
17
last manned mission to the moon (crew: Eugene
A. Cernan, Harrison H. Schmitt, Ronald E. Evans)
CSM-114
1972-096A
#06300 |
Apollo 17 was the 6th
and last Apollo mission during which humans walked on
the lunar surface. On December 11th
1972 commander Cernan and lunar module (LM) pilot Schmitt
landed in the Taurus-Littrow region of the Moon. The
Command and Service Module (CSM) with its pilot Evans
continued in its lunar orbit. During their stay on the
Moon, the astronauts set up scientific experiments,
took photographs, drove around with the rover and collected
lunar samples. The LM took off from the Moon on December
14th and the astronauts returned
to Earth on December 19th.
|
Dec 7th
1972 |
30320 kg |
Enclosed
recording of the audio link between the team on the
moon while driving around with the rover and the ground
staff on Earth was recorded on December 13th
1972 around 05:00 UTC by Bob K5DZE (ex DA1EZ). It was
actually a live re-transmission on 7.524 MHz in SSB
between 2 NASA stations. You can hear in this excellent
20 minutes long recording the slow but strong fading
of the signal coming from the moon. Many thanks to Bob
K5DZE for kindly providing this interesting recording. |
Enclosed
voice transmission of Apollo-17 while in earth orbit
was received on 296.8 MHz on December 7th
1972 at 07:08 UTC by R.S. (Dick) Flagg and Sven Grahn
in Titusville, Florida.
This recording was kindly
provided by Sven Grahn with permission of R.S. (Dick)
Flagg. |
Enclosed
voice transmission of Apollo-17 while in lunar
orbit was received on 2287.5 MHz on December 12th
1972 by R.S. (Dick) Flagg and Sven Grahn in Biven's
Arm, Gainesville, Florida.
This recording was kindly
provided by Sven Grahn with permission of R.S. (Dick)
Flagg. |
|
STS-1
Columbia
1981-034A
#12399 |
German
report about the first launch of a space shuttle: STS-1
Columbia which was broadcasted by Bayrischer Rundfunk.
Record provided by Maik Hermenau.
You can find many
more recordings from Spaceships like he Space Shuttle
in the respective section of this website. |
Apr 12th 1981 |
4908 kg |
|
MIR
Space Station
1986-017A
#16609 |
Mir (english peace),
a Russian space station, was the world's first consistently
inhabited long-term research station in space.  Constructed
from 1986 to 1996 using a modular design (core
module launched February 20th 1986) the station was
in operation for fifteen years before it was deliberately
de-orbited and re-entered into the atmosphere over the
South Pacific Ocean on March 23rd 2001. 10 years after
its reentry I built a model of MIR which is now in my
bookshelf and a nice reminiscence of the various contacts
I had with people onboard MIR. |
Feb
20th
1986 (core module) |
140000
kg |
The first crew to visit
MIR were Leonid Kizim and Vladimir Soloviev. Their Soyuz
T-15 spacecraft was launched on March 13th
1986 and they docked to MIR on March 14th.
They stayed in space for 125 days and during that time
even travelled from MIR to Salyut 6 and back before
finally returning back to earth.
The first
audio file was recorded by Sven Grahn on March 15th 1986 15:27
UTC on 121.75 MHz, apparently shortly after they entered
MIR. Many thanks to Sven Grahn.
The second
audio file was recorded the day after on March 16th 1986 14:14
UTC on 143.625 MHz also by Sven Grahn. |
|
International Space
Station ISS
1998-067A
#25544 |
The first crew of the
ISS was the team of Commander William M. Shepherd, Soyuz
Pilot Yuri P. Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev.
They arrived with a Soyuz spacecraft on Nov. 2nd 2000 and stayed
136 days.
In the
sound file enclosed Bill Shepherd is thanking the ground
crews. Recorded shortly after arrival of the 1st
crew on Nov. 2nd
2000 at 12:27 UTC on 143.625 MHz by Sven Grahn.
You can find many more recordings from Spaceships like
ISS in the respective section of this website. |
Nov 20th
1998
(Zarja module) |
183283 kg |
|
STS-135
Atlantis OV-104
2011-031A
#37736 |
STS-135
was the final shutttle mission. It was launched in July
8th 2011 from Kennedy Space
Center and docked to ISS on July 10th
2011 at 15:07 UTC.  STS-135
Atlantis's External Tank video downlink was received
over Europe by Nils von Storch 24 minutes after launch
on 2272.5 MHz FM. Normally an internal timer disables
the 10 Watts s-band video transmitter onboard the External
Tank (ET) about 15 Minutes after launch, to avoid interference
with S-Band communication systems in Europe. On this
final Space Shuttle mission however, engineers decided
to disable the timer in order to capture video from
the ETs perspective when it re-entries the earths atmosphere
about 60 minutes after launch. Unfortunately the signal
was at 4° elevation only before disappearing behind
the horizon again, which is the reason why the received
video is only so short. Equipment used to receive this
video was a 90cm mesh dish with 3,5 turn RHCP Helix
for 2250 MHz, EME103B S-Band LNA and a G1MFG S-Band
video receiver. Thanks to Nils for sharing this video
with us. The mission lasted 13 days ending with a landing
at Cape Canaveral on July 21st
2011 at 09:55 UTC. Please note that the .mp4-video is
almost 20 MByte large. |
Jul 8th 2011 |
5000 kg |
