On the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive we occasionally post recordings that were never broadcast over shortwave radio. We enjoy highlighting unique broadcast recordings that we can safeguard and share, knowing they’ll never be lost to time…or, indeed, space.

2 story tall ULF transmitter system and other high voltage equipment

John Shepherd is the engineer, visionary, and voice behind “Space Cruise–1,” a broadcast by Project S.T.R.A.T. Earth Station One. This was an ultra-powerful maverick transmitting station once based in rural Michigan, USA, which, for nearly three decades, broadcast original radio shows into outer space. The highly-directional signal, according to John, reached a distance roughly twice that of the moon, and, not unlike the 1970s Voyager spacecraft’s “golden record,” shared the hope that it might be intercepted by intelligent beings from other worlds. John selected music as his primary broadcast vehicle, and his varied playlist drew on such genres as electronica and Afro-Pop.

Project S.T.R.A.T. studio

John and his project have been featured in numerous news stories; most recently, his personal story was featured in the Netflix documentary short John Was Trying to Contact Aliens.

Project S.T.R.A.T. studio

We reached out to John to ask if he had made any studio recordings of his undeniably original shows. He very kindly replied that he was in possession of one studio recording made in 1996. John digitized the recording for us and has enthusiastically supported it being shared here on the archive.

John included an image of his original show notes and playlist below:

Here is the studio recording of “Space Cruise–1,” originally broadcast into space on August 14, 1996.

John Shepherd also kindly included the following synth/sound tracks he created which he plans to use as sound beds for future work:

We plan to broadcast John’s recording over shortwave radio in partnership with WRMI in the fall of 2020. Once an off-air recording of that broadcast has been made, it, too, will join the SRAA.

Many thanks, John, for sharing your work with this world, too.

Click here to read about Project S.T.R.A.T.

Click here to read John's bio.

Click here to read about John’s early years and work.