Receive-first · license-honest · citizen science
A static, self-contained console of every concrete way a hobbyist can listen to, drive, or contribute to deep-space science — from $0 browser tools to institutional ground stations. Browse the catalog to find your entry point.
Start here
Every stage hands you real data. Climb only as far as you like — a lifetime of fun is possible without ever transmitting. Each rung links straight into the catalog.
$0 · a weekend · browser only
Watch the DSN Now board, grab an api.nasa.gov key for APOD and NeoWs, tune three KiwiSDRs across different hemispheres, schedule a SatNOGS observation on a station abroad, submit your name to NASA's next Mars mission, trigger a PICTOR telescope run, and classify 20 spectra on Zooniverse.
~$30–$80 · 1–2 weekends
Pick up an RTL-SDR Blog V4 and a coat-hanger V-dipole or QFH antenna, run SDR++, decode Meteor-M2 LRPT with SatDump, catch ISS SSTV during a NASA event, listen to ISS APRS with Direwolf, and set up GOES if you have a south-facing window.
Browse SDR entry points →~$100–$250 · a month
Build a TinyGS station, assemble the rtl-sdr.com 21 cm hydrogen-line telescope (about a $179 bill of materials), and join the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers ($20/yr) for the community and know-how.
Browse ground-station networks →~$300–$700 · 3–6 months
Earn your Technician license ($15 exam, study at hamstudy.org), pair a Baofeng UV-5R or FT-70D with an Arrow II Yagi, work an FM OSCAR bird, and build a full SatNOGS station with a 3D-printed rotator. In the QO-100 footprint? Add a 90 cm dish, PlutoSDR, and a 2.4 GHz transverter.
Browse uploading & transmitting →$1k+ · or with a club / institution
Apply for an ARISS contact, build the MIT Haystack Small Radio Telescope with a club, and exercise AWS Ground Station's "Digital Twin" mode — real ground-station APIs that matter once you operate a licensed satellite.
Browse public radio telescopes →Drive a real telescope remotely, learn the hydrogen line, no hardware needed.
Learn the full ground-station craft and the art-of-the-archive side — with live capture now pointed at Meteor/GOES instead of the retired NOAA fleet.
Receiving any unencrypted signal is legal almost everywhere. Transmitting on a band you're not licensed for is illegal, full stop. Ham radio is the universal key.