ArissSat was designed for this environment and apparently it survived just fine.
Bob, WB4APR Huh ? Sorry but maybe you have another ARISSAT-1. The ARISSAT-1 I was looking forward to had a linear transponder so I can actually use it as a HAM Radio Operator and have QSO's with other HAM Radio Operators in its footprint, not as a teacher having kids listen to pre-recorded messages. Don't get me wrong, the whole education thing and the receiving of sstv pics etc. is fantastic. And its great to see this happen. But IMHO that was not the main purpose of this sat. The purpose was to have another sideband bird for Hams to enjoy. And that does not happen now. So calling this mission a 'success' is pretty ironic. But the worst part is that this didn't need to happen at all ! Although the crew handled the sat way to rough, the UHF antenna probably didn't even break off during the space walk. It probably broke off in the months before inside the ISS, or has been simply forgotten to be attached or even have been screwed up by the ground crew when they loaded the sat for transport to the ISS. I've worked for the European Space Agency for 8 years and I am telling you such a major screw-up would have never ever happened there. There are procedures and policies for everything. Everything is designed, spelled out, simulated, reviewed and double-tripple checked over and over. Thats what you have to do, when you operate in such an environment. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is left to chance, interpretation or worse improvisation. And that is why Ariane 5 is the most powerfull, most reliable and most successful launch vehicle on the planet today. You are dealing with millions of dollars worth of hardware, or even worse, peoples lives depend on the proper planning and handling of missions. It doesn't matter if it is a small ham satellite build by volunteers or a multi-billion dollar space telescope: The principals remain the same. And if everybody follows the proper developed procedures things like that simply don’t happen. It would have been sad, but perfectly o.k. if the sat would have been damaged by some orbiting space debris, or some unforseen x-ray radiation or something like that. Because those are the risks one takes in space, and some things can not be predicted and/or avoided. But this damage has been done by simple carelessness and ignorance. I wasn't actively involved in the project, as I came 'to late to the party'. But I was very excited and seriously thought about offering my knowledge and expertise (in Software Engineering) to project Fox. But after this I have my doubts. Spending countless hours, blood and sweat to build something just to see it being destroyed by an astronaut who either doesn't care or doesn't know better ? And then still have to be grateful for it ? No Thanks. Andreas - VK4FHAW --- On Wed, 3/8/11, Doug Kuitula <ka8...@pasty.net> wrote: From: Doug Kuitula <ka8...@pasty.net> Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: THE ROUGH TREATMENT OF ARISSAT-1 (relax!) To: "Bob Bruninga" <bruni...@usna.edu>, "'amsat-bb'" <amsat-bb@amsat.org> Received: Wednesday, 3 August, 2011, 11:10 AM Well said Bob. Even if the 70 CM antenna was still rolled up, I still had a much stronger signal on the 400 MHZ band than on 2M, when they were doing the test earlier this week. Enjoy the bird and get your kids to listen when it comes by. That's the point. So everyone take a breath and have some fun with ARISSAT-1. 73 de Doug KA8QCU ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Bruninga" <bruni...@usna.edu> To: "'amsat-bb'" <amsat-bb@amsat.org> Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2011 18:47 Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: THE ROUGH TREATMENT OF ARISSAT-1 (relax!) Everyone should relax. We built PCSAT-2 that was also deployed on the outside of ISS back in 2006. The requirements for any kind of such EVA hardware are clearly spelled out by NASA since they (and anyone who thinks about it) realizes that carrying ANYTHING by hand or on a tether in ZERO G is going to get banged around like an ape with a suitcase. It is naïve to assume otherwise. So PCSAT-2 (and I assume Arissat) was built to be kicked, banged, hit, dropped, stepped on, and even whizzed on (ISS water releases). The forces were specified to include the 300lb impact of the astronauts foot (man and suit) anywhere and everywhere on the object. The live video proved how realistic these design requirements are. So relax. What you saw is man working in space. Like making sausage, it ain't pretty... but its what the laws of physics require when heavy objects float. ArissSat was designed for this environment and apparently it survived just fine. Bob, WB4APR -----Original Message----- Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2011 6:05 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] THE ROUGH TREATMENT OF ARISSAT-1 > .. [BS...] Someone's ASS should be on the line for the > rough treatment of this "project"... As far as I'M > concerned...they sent out INEXPERIENCED rookies to > deploy something that... was still important to US and > the university that built the pressure experiment onboard. > What if these cosmonauts DID destroy it? What if it had > to be brought back to Earth? Who would have paid for > it? Or would it have been a loss for the contributors involved? _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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@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@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
