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Welcome
The Goddard Amateur Radio Club (WA3NAN) was created by employees of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The club provides a social circle for amateur radio operators associated with NASA and spaceflight interests. Our primary functions are to provide a place for radio operation, experimentation, training and education, and emergency communications support.
What is Amateur Radio?
Amateur radio — sometimes called HAM radio — is a non-commercial medium for hobbyists and experimenters to learn about wireless communications in all kinds of forms. These include HF long-distance communications, high-speed digital microwave links, and satellite communications.
Amateur radio operators come from all walks of life: movie stars, missionaries, doctors, students, politicians, truck drivers, and just plain folks. They are all ages, backgrounds, income levels, and nationalities. Whether they prefer Morse code on an old brass telegraph key, voice communication on a handheld radio, or computerized messages via satellite — they all share an interest in reaching out to the world through radio.
Club Activities
The club has provided public services to the greater community, including support of amateur radio contacts between the ISS and local schools, retransmissions of interesting NASA launch events for public consumption, and participation in amateur radio competitive events.
Club members hold a weekly club service net every Thursday at 21:00 local and a social keep-in-touch net for the local ham community every day at noon local on the 146.835 MHz repeater. Both nets are open to the amateur radio community.
ISS School Contacts
Supporting ARISS amateur radio contacts between the International Space Station and local schools.
HF & Satellite Ops
Operating club HF stations and a VHF/UHF satellite tracking station available to members.
Club Facilities
Club facilities available to members include HF operating stations, a HAM satellite tracking station (VHF/UHF), a VHF repeater, and a radio test and development lab.
The club's 2M repeater is located on the water tower at NASA GSFC (near I-495 & I-295) and is open to the entire amateur radio community — no membership required. It provides coverage across the DC/Metro region, Northern Virginia, and up toward Baltimore, MD. Output is at 146.835 MHz, no PL required. Accessible via EchoLink using node number 40045.
Recent Articles
First Ham in Space
Special Event Page for first ham in space.