Frequently Asked Questions

1. How are messages transmitted into space?

   Your messages are beamed into space, via radio waves, using a low wattage 2-5 GHz transmitter attached to an 18 inch parabolic dish. The photons that comprise this message will continue to travel through Space for uncounted millennia. For more of the science behind this, see our Science page.

2. Can aliens receive our messages?

   The signal broadcast into space will expand and weaken as it travels. While it isn't possible to know what an advanced technology could do, we feel it's unlikely that aliens could intercept enough of our signal to understand your message, unless...

3. What factors determine the strength of the signal?

   These factors determine signal strength:

   1. For an antenna that produces an unfocused signal, the strength drops off as 1/r^3. With a parabolic antenna, the signal is pushed forward into a cone and the power drops off much more slowly. The size of the signal-producing antenna is set to the wavelength of the signal.
   2. For a receiving antenna, the size of the collector dish is what is important. A bigger dish receives more signal. 
   3. The data rate is inversely proportional to the signal strength. If the ones and zeros take twice as long to send, then they have twice the power. 
   4. We've chosen a frequency that passes through our atmosphere cleanly (2-10 GHz).
   5. What we are sending is roughly similar to the frequency and wattage of the transmitters on the Voyager and Pioneer space probes. We were able to send and receive from these probes out to the edge of our solar system (heliosphere boundary). But not much further. 
   6. By the time our signal reaches the closest star, it will be too weak for a typical antenna to pick up. However, an advanced alien civilization with an antenna several miles wide (perhaps built in orbit) would be able to receive the signal.
    

4. How powerful is the SpaceSpeak transmitter?

   Phase I of the SpaceSpeak transmitter includes: 

   1. Three low power 5 watt (EIRP) parabolic transmitters.
   2. Two transmitters deployed in the USA, and one in Brazil

   Phase II of the transmitter will include:

   1. An array of hundreds or thousands of personal micro transmitter/PCs located with SpaceSpeak users from around the world. We have beta units deployed as follows:
   • Three in the USA (Tampa FL, Austin TX, Houston TX)
   • one in the UK
   • one in Australia
   • one in Brazil

5. If any of the “unexplained aerial phenomena” identified by the U.S. Military are extraterrestrials, could they intercept a SpaceSpeak message?

   Yes! SpaceSpeak transmitters are similar in frequency and wattage to the transmitters on NASA's Voyager and Pioneer space probes, which were able to communicate with Earth from the edge of our solar system. SpaceSpeak messages are narrow beams that could easily be intercepted by a reciever traveling through the transmission.

6. How can I use the SpaceSpeak API to implement space messaging on my website? Is it expensive?

   Send us a message through Facebook or LinkedIn and we will work to create an affordable license for you.