L-Band antenna – Right hand circular polarized

Capturing Data transmission from GK-2A and Meteor M2 Satellite

How I Began Capturing Signals From Space

My interest in radio signals started on the ground — literally. I was tracking aircraft using ADS-B, and it amazed me that planes constantly broadcast live data into the air, waiting for anyone curious enough to listen. After building my first ADS-B receiver and watching real aircraft appear on my screen, I wondered: if airplanes can send signals, what else is transmitting that I can capture?

That curiosity pushed my eyes upward — to satellites.

I learned that weather satellites continuously send imagery back to Earth, and with the right equipment, anyone could receive it. That idea fascinated me. So I started small: a budget SDR, a homemade V-dipole antenna, and a lot of reading, trial, and error. I tracked my first NOAA satellite pass, manually rotated the antenna to match polarization, adjusted gain settings, and waited. The moment the first image appeared — clouds, coastlines, and real-time weather data straight from orbit — it didn’t feel like technology anymore. It felt like magic. In June and August of 2025, I was heartbroken to hear the decision to decommission NOAA 15, 18 and 19. 

GK-2A (GeoKompsat) Satellite

meteor-m2-1 Satellite

Soon I moved to higher-resolution Meteor satellites and eventually built a right-hand circularly polarized helix antenna to receive data from the Korean GK-2A satellite. Each step taught me something new — orbital mechanics, signal propagation, antenna design, decoding tools, and patience.

Today, satellite signals are no longer invisible mystery streams in the sky to me. They are data, science, and engineering in action — and every pass still feels like a conversation with space. What started as curiosity has turned into a passion for listening to the world above us.

Building L-Band Antenna - Right Hand Circular Polarized