Why is a baby monitor picking up video of the space shuttle?

So what's causing the baby monitor to pick up the NASA video? In the past, we've written about how people might be able to listen in on audio-only baby monitors. In this case, it all comes down to what the Meilingers' video baby monitor really is: a TV, complete with built-in antenna. Before we go into the details of what's happening here, let's talk a bit about radio and television frequencies.

Most people get their TV through cable or satellite. However, some still get their TV the old fashioned way through direct reception, which requires an antenna to pick up the TV signal broadcast through the air. With the inception of television, a large number of radio frequencies were set aside to broadcast TV. Early on, television was limited to channels 2 through 13, which were called Very High Frequency (VHF) channels. After World War II, more channels were assigned for TV use; these were called Ultra High Frequency (UHF) channels.

In recent years, due to the proliferation of so many different types of over-the-air communication -- including radio, television, cell phones, military communications and WiFi -- some channels have been reassigned to other uses. Today, channels 2 through 13 are still VHF channels. Channels 14 through 69 are UHF channels. Channels 70 through 83 were reassigned to cell phone frequencies in the early 1980s, and in 2009, channels 52 through 69 will be reassigned to broadcast HD channels.

In the next section, we'll see how all of this fits into the mystery.

It turns out that NASA's video material isn't only available through the Internet. In fact, NASA has its own TV channel, which is carried by many satellite and cable providers. The channel may also be syndicated by local public-television broadcasters or by amateur broadcasters, who likely use UHF frequencies. Remember, Meilingers' video baby monitor is like a TV. While we don't know which model of Summer Infant baby monitor the family owns, all of Summer Infant's video baby monitors use either the 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz frequencies. That would put them smack in the UHF range, which includes frequencies up to 3 GHz. Although UHF television stops at 812 MHz, an amateur broadcaster may be illegally broadcasting the signal at a higher frequency. If this is the case, the monitor is in essence acting like an old-style television, picking up the NASA signal through direct reception.

Of course, it's possible that something else is going on, but as far as we can tell, this is the most likely explanation. In fact, if the Meilingers (or anyone else living nearby) have a 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz cordless phone, they may be able to pick up some of the audio from the NASA television feed -- in case they're using their baby monitor's second channel (which is functioning normally) to actually watch their baby.

For more information about baby monitors, NASA and to see footage of the Atlantis astronauts at work, please check out the links below.