On Aug 5, 2011, at 8:24 AM, Bob Bruninga wrote: >> They provided those millions of dollars of launch and > integration services for EDUCATION!. PERIOD. And so EDUCATION is what they > thought they were getting and so EDUCATION is what they talk about. I may be wrong here, but isn't Amateur Radio exactly that? Isn't the purpose of Amateur Radio also to educate, try out new things and develop ideas and technologies?
Yes, I'm one of those who would love to have another linear transponder in space, sure nice. But I also do believe that Amateur Radio is more than just talking to people. If I want to ragchew, I get on HF. Much easier and less stressful :). I managed to hear my downlink this morning on a pass over Houston, and boy is that thing moving fast. I'm not even sure if it would be very entertaining to have a QSO on that bird. Much less hectic on VO-52, FO-29 and AO-7. So the downlink data seems more interesting. > As Ham radio operators, we provided the hardware and we hope to have fun > with it while introducing new people, educators, and students to our great > hobby. But the only reason it got a free ride up there is because it > OFFERED EDUCATION for youth about communications and space. Well, I haven't tried yet but will on one of the next passes but receiving a live image via SSTV from a satellite using Amateur Radio is probably more interesting to get young people involved with this than just the fact that I can talk to somebody. As somebody mentioned earlier, they already can do that using other means. > Give Thanks to the Russians and NASA and all of the others that pulled this > off though personal effort and sacrifice. Sure, but you have to agree that it sure looked like they didn't give a damn about this during the launch no matter how difficult it is to maneuver in space. The conversations were just very telling. 73 Mike K5TRI _______________________________________________ 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
