[amsat-bb] Re: old satellites

[G0MRF@aol.com]

In a message dated 17/03/2009 17:29:47 GMT Standard Time,  
kg4zlb at googlemail.com writes:

>I was reading about the newly launched GOCE satellite and the fact  that 
>its mission will end when its 40kg tank empties - that of course  may be 
>a long time coming but as it has an S band transmitter, could  this not 
>be tweaked for us once the mission is  complete?


Hi.
ESA will use the usual 2G / 2.2G ish space communications band for  GOCE.  
The modulation format and data rate will be very different from  anything that 
we are familiar with. The uplink will send commands to the  spacecraft and the 
downlink will send back science data but It's highly  unlikely that signals 
can pass through or that the TX and RX can be moved to  2.4  GHz.


>And thinking further, for these satellites could amateur  radio gear be 
>carried so that it could be activated once the main  mission is complete? 
>Doing this over a number of years would provide a  ready made supply of 
>new birds over a period of time.
 
This however is a very practical idea. Right now AMSAT members are  building 
/ designing a communications system that will be launched on the ESA  
educational satellite ESEO.
When the science mission is over it will switch to amateur use and  hopefully 
provide a good service for many years (touching wood for good luck  as I 
write this)
 
ESEO is planned to be 75kg going to LEO.
 
73
 
David