[amsat-bb] Re: FLTSATCOM Hacked

[Robert Bruninga]

> A school to provide the $50,000 launch.....
> Anything from keeping 50 hams from donating 
> $1000 a piece and just buying a launch 
> - no school involved?

Sure, anyone.  I havent priced the latest launch integratiojn
costs from the Cubesat Program recently, but the $50k was their
original plan...

> On Wed, Apr 22, 2009 at 11:16 AM, Robert Bruninga 
> <bruninga at usna.edu> wrote:
> 
> 
> 	> A last comment, a LEO would be virtually worthless
> 	> for Emergency NET communications and HF is still
> 	> a viable and reliable means of communications...
> 	
> 	
> 	Well, I still think a bunch of 145.825 APRS digipeating
> 	satellites in LEO that would allow text-messaging from
anywhere
> 	in the world at any time, downlinked into the
APRS-Internet
> 	system and hence global internet connectivity is still a
great
> 	way to go for basic messaging for emergency response.
With just
> 	6 such tiny 4" cubesats, you could get a message
in-or-out with
> 	no more than a half hour wait from the front panel of
your APRS
> 	mobile radio.  With a dozen of these, you could have
global
> 	communications anywhere instantly or with no more than a
5
> 	minute wait.
> 	
> 	Our goal is to get more of these up there to join the
ISS
> 	digipeater, but of the 4 we have lanuched so far, all
were
> 	short-term orbits and so the most we have ever had
operational
> 	at one time was 3 (PCSAT-1, ANDE and RAFT).  That is one
of the
> 	main reasons we wanted to see ISS on 145.825 to join the
> 	constellation.  ISS was still on 145.800 during most of
the life
> 	of those three birds (which were all on 145.825)
> 	
> 	Today, with 6 AA NiCd's, a 19" whip antennna, and a 3.4"
square
> 	APRS Microtacker TNC/Radio you can throw together an
APRS
> 	satellite for under $400.  Add cheap solar panels, a lot
of
> 	sweat equity and then find a school to provide the
$50,000
> 	launch, and bingo, A LEO satellite with great utility
that
> 	anyone can use while mobile for text messsaging and
email from
> 	the front panel of their APRS radio.
> 	
> 	Please see the Microtrack TNC/Radio which can serve as
the
> 	entire Comms, Command, Control and Telemetry module:
> 	
> 	http://www.byonics.com/microtrak/mt-tt4.php
> 	
> 	And see our cubesat project:
http://www.aprs.org/psat.html
> 	though this web page needs to be significanly updated..
> 	
> 	Bob, WB4APR
> 	
> 
> 
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> 
> 
>