Pictures from the space station (ISS SSTV)
Pictures from the space station sound like a fast, warbling whistle with a steady ticking rhythm. Each tick is one line of a picture, and about 36 seconds of it becomes a postcard from orbit.
What does it sound like?
What is it?
During ARISS events, the International Space Station sends still pictures by slow-scan TV (SSTV) as it passes overhead. Anyone with a radio that tunes 437.550 MHz, even a handheld, can receive them, and a free app turns the sound into the picture.
The next event
ARISS Series 33, “Student Education”, runs from Friday, October 2, 2026 at 09:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. Pacific) to Tuesday, October 6 at 15:55 UTC, on 437.550 MHz in Robot 36. Each pass lasts ten minutes or less; the frequency drifts about 10 kHz up and down during a pass (the Doppler effect). Earlier events used 145.800 MHz.
Get a certificate
ARISS gives certificates to listeners who submit pictures to its gallery, usually during the event and for about three days after.
Easily confused with
- HF SSTV: the same kind of signal from hams on 14.230 MHz
- Weather fax: slower, steady ticking, black and white, on shortwave
- Weather satellites: a steady tick-tock at 137 MHz