[amsat-bb] Amsat conference follow-up regarding Cubesats, Education and Experimental projects and ITU

[Samudra Haque N3RDX]

Hi all amsat-bb participants,

there were a number of good concepts that were floated at the 2009
AMSAT-NA Space Symposium and I highlighted the potential of using
AMSAT knowledgebase and experienced hobbyists to create relevant
course content for inclusion in a K-12 STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering and Math) syllabus for various standards of learning. One
of the nearest examples I can give of such a similar program is the
aviation-technology centric STARBASE program which is a civilian
operated program affiliated and funded by the DoD,
http://www.dodstarbase.com/ and of those programs, I highlighted work
of a single one at the conference, http://www.starbasebeaufort.com

If you were at the conference and had any questions about my
presentation, please let me know by e-mail. For others, you may wish
to purchase the proceedings of the conference from Martha/Amsat at
your convenience as this years proceedings is very well organized.

I was interested to know a little bit about the history of
development/spread of use and launch technology available for the
P-POD and Cubesat technology as discussed in
http://thespacereview.com/article/1490/1. Morehead State University
had a very interesting presentation given by Undergraduate students
about their  Space Science program http://www.moreheadstate.edu/ssc/.

This lead me to think about what the cubesat platform is good for and
perhaps I could begin developing a cubesat proposal "with features" in
my future research plans.

But first a few questions:

Does cubesat employ all open standards, free for use, free of any
copyright -or- patents ?

Are there any alternative choices in the US ? I have heard at the
conference, a few years ago AMSAT-NA was initially against cubesats,
but now it is an accepted concept. Could someone provide a short
history of the discussion of that period ?

What types of missions have been completed using P-POD and Cubesat
type spacecraft at the current time ?

Is there an example of a cubesat with any kind of propulsion system
built in and put into service ? Any future candidates ?

What are the lifetime design goals of a cubesat system, and if they
deorbit in a finite time, can more than a few cubesats be deployed in
various stages in the same orbital plane and orbital track ?

BTW, I am curious, is there a certain orbital plane allocation for
cubesats/altitude ? Who regulates this ? Could a cubesat (small) be
launched into (e.g.) a fractional degree orbit .. e.g., 45.5 degrees
and separate from 45.7 degrees etc as they are very small, or are the
cubesats limited to separation in orbit by whole integer degrees
inclination ?

Also, with regard to the following ITU definition, can any one help me
locate an current  list of cubesats and their mission objectives if
published on a public website ? If there is no such list readily
available, what would be the best possible method to catalog the
cubesat launches in order to determine compliance with these two
clauses ? I am looking for more comprehensive information other than
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/cubesats.php


From: http://life.itu.int/radioclub/rr/art01.htm#Serv

1.56     amateur service: A radiocommunication service for the purpose
of self-training, intercommunication and technical investigations
carried out by amateurs, that is, by duly authorized persons
interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim and without
pecuniary interest.

1.57     amateur-satellite service: A radiocommunication service using
space stations on earth satellites for the same purposes as those of
the amateur service.



Regards from a radio amateur sat newbie,


Samudra, N3RDX
n3rdx at amsat.org