[amsat-bb] Re: COMPASS-1 support at the West Coast

[Bruce Robertson]

On Tue, Nov 11, 2008 at 11:28 AM, i8cvs <domenico.i8cvs at tin.it> wrote:
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mike Rupprecht" <mail at mike-rupprecht.de>
> To: "'amsat-bb'" <amsat-bb at amsat.org>
> Sent: Monday, November 10, 2008 7:33 PM
> Subject: [amsat-bb] COMPASS-1 support at the West Coast
>
>> Dear all,
>>
>> we are looking for someone to assist us in commanding of our cubesat
>> COMPASS-1 at the West Coast.
>>
>> If someone (or more) is interested in, please contact me. Thanks!
>>
>>
>> 73, on behalf of the COMPASS team,
>>
>> Mike
>>
>> DK3WN
>
> Hi Mike, DK3WN
>
> COMPASS-1 is not an amateur satellite  http://www.raumfahrt.fh-aachen.de/

Dom:

I followed the link you gave above, but I couldn't see how it showed
that COMPASS-1 is not an amateur satellite. If you mean that it is a
commercial venture, I cannot see proof of this. If you mean that
amateurs are not involved, I cannot see proof of that, either. (The
absence of callsigns with the names of the people involved does not,
to me, prove that they are not hams. Websites like this have multiple
audiences, some of which might not understand or appreciate
callsigns.) There is a place for hams to contact, moreover, and a 'big
thank you' to those who have collected telemetry.

> If the COMPASS team is looking for someone (or more) radioamateurs
> all around the world in assisting with command and telemetry using our
> amateur ground stations built  using our amateur money in my opinion the
> COMPASS-1 scientific organization should donate contributions to AMSAT
> in order to buid our communication satellites.

With all respect, I take the position that is converse to this:
namely, that COMPASS-1 *is* an amateur satellite, and therefore the
COMPASS team has assisted us greatly by building it. COMPASS happens
to be the only satellite that I have commanded from my groundstation,
operating on amateur frequencies, of course. In some sense, it is, to
me, more of an amateur satellite than, say, our much-loved FO-29 or
AO-51, or any HEO that might get launched. These, I assume, I will
never control; COMPASS I have.

> Is the COMPASS-1 scientific organization in Germany donating contributions
> to AMSAT-DL to build P3-E or not ?

If the economic hurdles are overcome, P3-E will be wonderful fun. But
I wonder if by focusing on it, we are in danger of not enjoying the
many amateur projects that are underway and of feeling embittered by
the financial forces that are, ultimately, out of the control of the
amateur satellite community.

73, Bruce
VE9QRP