[vardump]

I think in scientific satellites, the downlink is unencrypted and only the command channel is usually encrypted for obvious reasons.

[baobob]

Is 25 Ghz something an amateur could practically expect to capture from earth without ridiculous (or improbable) electronics? My understanding of higher frequencies was that something this high is likely to have been almost completely absorbed by the atmosphere

[jonah]

You'll probably need a pretty big dish...