Satellite Self Study - special offer for 2026

From today until the end of March 2026 our practical satellite reception for beginners course will be free of charge.

To take up this opportunity, you must have registered for the course and have completed at least ONE of the activities before the end of March 2026. 

This course contains nine activities and includes a specially written introduction by Isabel Carmichael about the work of her father Geoffrey Perry and the Kettering group.

Activities include:

Listening to a geostationary satellite, listening to a low earth orbiting satellite, both free if you have a web browser and internet access.Building a satellite reception antenna, using a tablet to receive raw gps data, Building a TinyGS ground station, using software defined radio, using a cheap handheld radio to listen to satellites, A  Space careers/ STEM ambassador video, a step-by-step guide to plotting the Doppler curve for a LEO satellite and an AH physics satellite worksheet.

Comments about the course activities include:

• “Activity 1 - easy to take into the classroom and not too complicated”

• “Using websites to listen into satellites [allowed] a more practical part to an otherwise not very practical part of the course”.

• “[I liked] Activities 2 and 4. Activity 2 gave me opportunity to combine position of the satellite from the app and web SDR to "catch" a satellite. Activity 4 was practical and I’ve learned about NMEA sentences, something completely new to me”.

• “All activities are fun and practical. I did activity 1, 8 and 9 and I found all of them very helpful in terms of course teaching and inspirations to pupils”.

 

To access the course go to:  SSERC | Satellite Reception for Beginners self-study March 2026