[amsat-bb] Re: Phase 3

[Robert McGwier]

>From one of the great minds of our history.  Marty showed us how good the
kinds of writing he did would be for us......

The first photo is one of the first formal meetings where Karl,  Jan, Marty
Davidoff, Tom Clark and others discuss Phase 3A.  These were GLORIOUS years
for AMSAT.  No one denies this and no amount of back biting or rehash of
old incidents will fix it.  The tools they had were their brains, a pencil,
and SOME calculation engine.  The tools we have today allow many more to
play.  The achievements that Karl's GENIUS, Jan's system engineering and
the technical input and guidance from the rest gave (including Marty) are
unsung and poorly told songs of the indomitable spirit of these free
spirited thinkers...

http://n4hy.smugmug.com/AMSAT/Phase-3-A/001-Meetings-01-Technical/2053450_WkWbc9#!i=105550031&k=L7jf7FJ

 And this one even earlier (that's Rich Zwirko, K1HTV in coat and tie).  If
others can identify people (not including Tom, Marty, Karl, and Jan and
Rich) please let me know who they are.

http://n4hy.smugmug.com/AMSAT/Phase-3-A/001-Meetings-01-Technical/2053450_WkWbc9#!i=105550132&k=PqJ99cK

I almost could wish I was 15 years older or had a time machine.....

Bob
N4HY



On Mon, Sep 23, 2013 at 6:35 PM, Paul Stoetzer <n8hm at arrl.net> wrote:

> 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
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Sent via  AMSAT-BB at amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the
> author.
> > Not an  AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite
> >  program!
> > Subscription settings:  http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Sent via AMSAT-BB at amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
> > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite
> program!
> > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
> >
> _______________________________________________
> Sent via AMSAT-BB at amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
> Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
>



-- 
Bob McGwier
Owner and Technical Director, Allied Communication, LLC
Professor Virginia Tech
Senior Member IEEE, Facebook: N4HYBob, ARS: N4HY
Faculty Advisor Virginia Tech Amateur Radio Assn. (K4KDJ)