[amsat-bb] Re: 9 Cubesats selected for free ESA ride to space

[Bruce Robertson]

On Sat, Jun 7, 2008 at 7:32 PM, i8cvs <domenico.i8cvs at tin.it> wrote:
> Hi Bruce, VE9QRP
>
> Belive or not believe you and me and nobody never made a QSO via
> a Cubesats.

Actually, that might not be true. Apparently the control team tested
the transponder on Delfi C3 recently. I'm not sure if that meant they
made an actual QSO with two stations, or just listened to their own
uplink. In either case, it seems pretty certain we'll have cubesat
QSOs in a matter of weeks.

> The Satellite Amateur Radio Community is not made only by Ham Radio
> scientist working for the Universities but mostly they are working people
> belonging to all working classes.

Fair enough. But Cubesats offer a real opportunity for a far smaller
group of people from all classes to build and launch an amateur
communication satellite, too. Our critical problem, as I see it, is
that in NA and EU there are no free or deeply-discounted rides as
there were in the earlier times. Cubesats seem to offer launches
regularly because they aren't relying on the freebie system, but just
on really small, light objects costing a whole lot less to launch.

> Be sure that once the Universities have the ESA/NASA/JAXA-sponsored
> GENSO project running, they will probably even not need our help anymore,
> but only our  frequencies !!!

Dom, judging by the discussion on the irc chat after a cubesat launch,
my contribution will always be valued. Honestly, you'd find it a real
hoot to be part of that whole process. I was so chuffed to hear Defl
C3 booming into my station, about three S-units over VO-52. And, for a
project like Delfi C3, where the more data, the better, an extensive
network like we amateurs offer is a goldmine, never replaced by a
handful of university sites.

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Bruce Robertson" <ve9qrp at gmail.com>
> To: "i8cvs" <domenico.i8cvs at tin.it>
> Cc: "AMSAT" <amsat-bb at amsat.org>
> Sent: Saturday, June 07, 2008 11:45 PM
> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Re: 9 Cubesats selected for free ESA ride to space
>
>
> Dom:
>
> I greatly respect the knowledge you bring to this list, but I think
> you are incorrect here on several fronts.
>
> In at least one instance, the cubesat is, in fact, directly involved
> in amateur communications:
> "OUFTI-1 (University of Liège, Belgium): a mission to test the use of
> the D-STAR amateur radio digital communication protocol in space"
>
> As for the others, I think we should consider our telemetry-collecting
> services paid for in arrears by projects like Delfi C3. Like it or
> not, this is the place where small satellites are being routinely and
> cheaply launched. We should give this momentum an occasional nudge in
> the direction of our interests, not decry it.
>
> Finally, I and others find telemetry transmission and collection a
> wholly appropriate and very interesting use of amateur spectra. This
> may sound crazy, but I've come to consider those signals that tell me
> about conditions of the hardware in space often to be more interesting
> than signals bounced from earth through space back to earth.
>
> I think much of the opposition to cubesats derives from the mistaken
> opinion that they represent a lost opportunity to apply the same
> energies to a HEO satellite. My experience within the university makes
> me believe this is false: it is not the case that their universities
> and sponsors would, under other circumstances, pitch in for an amateur
> communications HEO bird.
>
> 73, Bruce
> VE9QRP
>
> On Sat, Jun 7, 2008 at 2:24 PM, i8cvs <domenico.i8cvs at tin.it> wrote:
>> Hi David, G0MRF
>>
>> It seem to me that while the Universities are becaming tennis players
>> we collect telemetry without to be involved in their experiments and
>> this is like to only pick up their balls and run with it.
>
>
>
>
>