how do astronauts in ISS post on social media?

Question

I just saw an [article](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8988053/NASA-astronaut-Victor-Glover-shares-video-SPACE.html) about Victor Glover’s first video from space. But some Facebook troll want to ruin the experience by saying “Geez he must have a good telecommunication deal to get service up there! I can’t get it in my bathroom!”

I know that somehow they “beam” signals to NASA receivers, and those are different from what the local telco providers have, but how are they able to do this? Can the astronauts really post real-time videos on social media from a mobile device?

In: Technology

Answer 1

They are connected to the internet through a network of satellites. The satellites connect the ISS to a computer in Houston, from which they can connect to the internet.