[amsat-bb] Re: Phase 3

Sun Sep 29 08:41:10 PDT 2013

Those must have been exciting times!

73, Jim  KQ6EA

On 09/29/2013 03:27 PM, Robert McGwier wrote:
> Ah yes and how many knew Martin Sweeting was involved in early design
> meetings for P3A?  Sorry for leaving you out Sir Martin!
>
>
> On Sun, Sep 29, 2013 at 11:14 AM, Robert McGwier <rwmcgwier at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>>  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)
>>
>
>