On 8/18/11 11:03 AM, JoAnne Maenpaa wrote: > Yeah, we still have dreams! At various times it had been called AMSAT-Eagle, > Phase IV Lite, C-C Rider, and other things. You'll notice from the dates on > these papers how long we've had this dream of a millions dollar rideshare > with a millions dollar satellite ...
Yes, and the fact that none of these piggyback payloads have ever come to fruition, while we do continue to get the occasional ad-hoc small satellite deployment opportunity, suggests that we need our own attitude determination and control system if at all possible. The most likely opportunity to piggyback a payload on a controlled platform with its own power supply would be the ISS itself. Although they've already got plenty of comm systems, one might pitch this as yet another backup comm system. It wouldn't be terribly hard to network the ground stations so that a conversation could be maintained as the ISS moves from one to the next. To simplify the implementation, provide good voice quality and a backup data capability, the system would have to be completely digital. -Phil _______________________________________________ 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
