[amsat-bb] Re: info on satellite placement

[Bob McGwier]

Simon:

We are completely dependent on the launcher to get us into orbit.  
Period, end of story.   If the launcher does not put us into a stable 
orbit,  the launcher failed its primary mission.

That said,

Please go and look at the pictures from some of our previous missions:

http://n4hy.smugmug.com/AMSAT

and in particular, look at the pictures for Phase 3A, AO-10, and 
AO-13.   In the cases AO-10 and AO-13,  you will see two men in 
"spacesuits".   They are filling our satellite tanks with fuel and 
oxidizer for our rocket motor.  Phase 3A (never given an oscar number 
since the launcher failed) did not have this because it had a solid 
rocket motor.  I believe it was a Morton Thiokol kick motor.

The primary rocket launcher in these cases did not, and was never 
intended to,  put us into our FINAL orbit.  We carried a significant 
rocket motor to put ourselves into the final orbit.  Further,  almost 
all of the complexity of these payloads (satellites) comes from the need 
to carry propulsion. 

73's
Bob
N4HY



Simon wrote:
> Hi everybody,
>  
> I was wondering if any one can suggest where I might find information on
> "how a satellite" gets placed into orbit.
> I have had a quick search of the web and can only find that a rocket
> gets it there. I hope to learn how and when its gets kicked off the
> rocket (or Shuttle), and what happens after that.  How does it loose
> what momentum the rocket may have given it, and how it then goes into an
> orbit etc .
>  
> Any help much appreciated.
>  
> Thankyou
>  
> Simon, VK3ZSJ
>
>   


-- 
Robert W. McGwier, Ph.D.
Center for Communications Research
805 Bunn Drive
Princeton, NJ 08540
(609)-924-4600
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