Satellite operators usually send commands as digital packets over radio, but one group of amateur radio operators tried something a little more conversational: They spoke the command into a microphone. Specifically, they verbally instructed an Earth-orbiting satellite to launch Doom, marking what appears to be the first time a spoken instruction has been successfully sent to and executed by a satellite.

The Oslo-based group sent a voice command to the European Space Agency’s OPS-SAT PRETTY, an experimental cubesat launched in 2023. The message was simple: “PRETTY PLAY DOOM.” Sure enough, the satellite detected the command and launched the 1993 first-person shooter video game. It even downlinked a postcard image of the moment, according to Tanagra Space, which develops machine learning that runs on board spacecraft.

While the experiment was a fun demonstration, it could also point toward more practical applications for satellite communications. The ability to recognize and respond to spoken commands could eventually help pave the way for more responsive satellites capable of listening for distress calls or emergency signals and reacting accordingly.

Satellites normally receive commands from Earth through radio-frequency signals transmitted by ground stations. The process is called telecommanding, and it works a little differently from simply talking to a device.

Satellite operators use specialized software to create digital commands, such as an instruction to adjust the spacecraft’s orientation. A ground station then uses a high-gain antenna to beam those commands to the satellite as encoded radio signals. An onboard radio receiver picks up the signal, and the spacecraft’s computer decodes the digital instructions before carrying out the request.

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