[amsat-bb] Re: Phase 3

[Paul Stoetzer]

I recently obtained a copy of the 1990 edition of Martin Davidoff's
Satellite Experimenters' Handbook and as I was browsing through the book, I
came across a passage on page 4-9 about the difficulties with UO-11, that's
very relevant to the ongoing debate about the lack of Phase 3 satellites:

"If there's a message here, it's that taking part in the amateur satellite
program is not for the faint-hearted. Setbacks and barriers will always be
part of the picture. And, the most rewarding successes will probably come
from employing ingenuity and tenacity to overcome the 'impossible' hurdles."

73,

Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
Washington, DC (FM18lv)


On Sun, Sep 22, 2013 at 7:17 PM, <MLengruesser at aol.com> wrote:

>
>
> Hi Dan,
>
> OSCAR-10 (P3-B) used the same 400N engine as OSCAR-13 (P3-C)  and
> OSCAR-40 (P3-D).
> For P3-E we have a 200N motor from EADS Astrium, the  same one which is
> used on the European ATV...
>
> I was AMSAT P3-A  (planned to be OSCAR-9) which used a solid propellant
> apogee  kick-motor.
> It's under the water near the cost of french Guiana..   RIP
>
> You can find an very good article  here:
> http://www.ka9q.net/AMSAT-Tech-Journal-2.pdf
> See page  8..15
>
> Rest assured, the PFA and propulsion system was qualified according  to
> highest commercial standards by commercial companies. Thus in no  way
> there would be any risk to the launcher or other payloads. This  also
> includes several levels of safety borders in the hardware design and  in
> the software.   The launch agencies have there own specialized  personal
> to review all the details...    Without that, nobody would  have launched
> any of the P3 satellites !!!
> What happened to  AO-40 later on after orbit injection and after
> activating the systems is a  completely different matter and did not
> present any risk to the launcher at  any time!
>
>
>
> Michael R. Lengruesser, DD5ER
>
> AMSAT-DL e.V.
> -- International Satellites for Communication,
> Science and Education --
> mlengruesser at amsat-dl.org
> http://www.amsat-dl.org
>
>
>
> In einer eMail vom 22.09.2013 21:07:08 Westeuropäische Sommerzeit schreibt
> n8fgv at usa.net:
>
> >>The apogee motors for OSCAR-10,and OSCAR-13 were solid  propellant
> >>400 Newton trust motors donated to AMSAT-DL by the  Messerschmitt
> Aerospace
> >>Company in Germany.
>
> Only Phase 3A  had a solid fuel motor. AO-10 and AO-13 had liquid fuel
> bi-propellent  motors the same as AO-40. No matter how well designed they
> are,
> they still  have the potential to blow up the entire launch stack if
> something
> goes  wrong. Since Dick Daniels is no longer with us, the knowledge has
> been
> lost  and we will not be launching any more of these in the future.
>
> Dan  Schultz  N8FGV
>
>
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>
>
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