[amsat-bb] Re: LF Satellite ideas?

[francesco messineo]

Hello,

On 12/11/10, Bob Bruninga <bruninga at usna.edu> wrote:
> Is 137 KHz possible from space?
>
> Our next Cubesat will have a 1100 meter long antenna (think tether
> satellite).  It will ultimatelly be an electrodynamic tether but the first
> one will have NO ACTIVE ELECTRONICS connected to the tether.
>
> So I have asked them to make it 1100m long instead of a generic 1km tether
> to try to make it resonant in an amateur band.  THe path loss at 137 KHz is
> 60 dB LESS than it is at 2 meters, so it shouldn't take much to communicate
> with an 1100m long antenna.
>
> I'm sorry I didnt think of this sooner, but I need a real SCIENCE
> justification for this.  Maybe LF that low will never punch through the
> ionosphere, or maybe it will be completely absorbed.  Can give good science
> on this idea?

I think the general opinion is LF will never punch through the
ionosphere, but this might only proved with a beacon orbiting and
ground stations listening.

73
Frank IZ8DWF