WEBVTT 00:00:10.209 --> 00:00:13.009 Thanks for tuning in. Hamtalk Live will be on 00:00:13.009 --> 00:00:30.949 the air shortly. Please stand by. Thanks for 00:00:30.949 --> 00:00:33.689 tuning in. Hamtalk Live will be on the air shortly. 00:00:33.990 --> 00:00:44.310 Please stand by. This episode of HamTalk Live 00:00:44.310 --> 00:00:47.950 is brought to you by Tower Electronics. For connectors, 00:00:48.329 --> 00:00:53.770 cables, and more, call 920 -435 -2973 or visit 00:00:53.770 --> 00:00:59.649 pl -259 .com. And by ICOM, heard it, worked it, 00:00:59.909 --> 00:01:04.890 logged it. Visit www .icomamerica .com slash 00:01:04.890 --> 00:01:08.750 amateur for more information about ICOM radios. 00:01:40.459 --> 00:01:43.099 Hey, good evening everyone. Boy, it's been a 00:01:43.099 --> 00:01:45.920 couple of weeks here. It's time for HamTalk Live 00:01:45.920 --> 00:01:52.620 episode number 195, the AMSAT 50th anniversary 00:01:52.620 --> 00:01:57.060 recap recorded live on Thursday, January 9th, 00:01:57.120 --> 00:02:02.799 2020. Ooh, I missed that in the script. It's 00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:07.159 2020 already. I'm your host, Neil Rapp, WB9VPG. 00:02:07.180 --> 00:02:10.750 Thanks for tuning in. to this episode of HamTalk 00:02:10.750 --> 00:02:14.909 Live. Tonight we're joined by Paul Stetzer, N8HM. 00:02:15.330 --> 00:02:18.770 He's the executive vice president of AMSAT and 00:02:18.770 --> 00:02:21.409 will take your calls live in just a few minutes. 00:02:21.849 --> 00:02:24.210 Hope you had a great last couple of weeks. I 00:02:24.210 --> 00:02:29.030 had a lot of traveling going on and just decided 00:02:29.030 --> 00:02:32.650 to take a couple of weeks off the show. It was 00:02:32.650 --> 00:02:35.430 probably a good decision. There was a lot going 00:02:35.430 --> 00:02:41.460 on. it was just kind of messy so my apologies 00:02:41.460 --> 00:02:44.139 for being gone but I hope you you had a great 00:02:44.139 --> 00:02:47.360 holiday season and if you're behind on listening 00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:50.020 I hope you had a chance to catch up over at hamptalklive 00:02:50.020 --> 00:02:54.539 .com or on your favorite podcast app or on YouTube 00:02:54.539 --> 00:03:00.580 or catch the rebroadcast over on WTWW 5085 a 00:03:00.580 --> 00:03:04.610 .m. at Saturday evenings at about 630 p .m. Eastern 00:03:04.610 --> 00:03:07.750 time and and now you know, I took two weeks off 00:03:07.750 --> 00:03:10.229 I don't think I've ever taken two weeks off and 00:03:10.229 --> 00:03:13.889 now we've got another week off coming up I've 00:03:13.889 --> 00:03:17.009 got a work conflict on February 6th. So just 00:03:17.009 --> 00:03:20.889 programming note I'm gonna be gone again on February 00:03:20.889 --> 00:03:27.469 6th, but we're inching up to episode number 200 00:03:27.469 --> 00:03:31.270 and It looks like that's gonna be on February 00:03:31.270 --> 00:03:35.520 20th And I've been talking to some folks and 00:03:35.520 --> 00:03:38.400 we've got some giveaways planned for that night. 00:03:39.479 --> 00:03:41.919 And we've got a plan for that show. It should 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:46.680 be a fun show. ICOM is going to give us some 00:03:46.680 --> 00:03:49.639 swag bags to give away and Tower Electronics 00:03:49.639 --> 00:03:53.919 has got some stuff. And LDG Electronics is going 00:03:53.919 --> 00:03:58.490 to donate a prize and we're glad to have... Them 00:03:58.490 --> 00:04:02.569 on board for episode number 200 so be sure to 00:04:02.569 --> 00:04:05.849 make plans to tune in live on February 20th And 00:04:05.849 --> 00:04:09.710 maybe you can be a winner So get your questions 00:04:09.710 --> 00:04:11.710 ready to go about am sad if you're listening 00:04:11.710 --> 00:04:14.229 to us live on Thursday night You can call us 00:04:14.229 --> 00:04:17.410 after the interview the telephone number is eight 00:04:17.410 --> 00:04:22.470 one two six three eight four two six one eight 00:04:22.470 --> 00:04:26.569 one two six three eight four two six one that's 00:04:26.480 --> 00:04:31.100 812 -NET -HAM -1. So keep that number handy and 00:04:31.100 --> 00:04:33.639 we'll let you know when it's time to call. You 00:04:33.639 --> 00:04:36.579 can also send a question via Twitter and you 00:04:36.579 --> 00:04:39.360 can do that right now if you like. We can catch 00:04:39.360 --> 00:04:42.800 up with that at any point along the way. So our 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:47.259 Twitter handle is at HamTalkLive. I'll be back 00:04:47.259 --> 00:04:50.040 with Paul right after this word from Tower Electronics 00:04:50.040 --> 00:04:55.980 right here on HamTalk Live. I'm sorry to bother 00:04:55.980 --> 00:04:58.360 you, but I'm having an antenna party and I ran 00:04:58.360 --> 00:05:02.199 out of PL259s. Oh, come in. Thank you. Would 00:05:02.199 --> 00:05:05.860 silver -plated PL259s from Tower Electronics 00:05:05.860 --> 00:05:08.899 be too good for your guests? Those will be fine. 00:05:09.060 --> 00:05:12.490 Thank you. You saved my life the other night. 00:05:13.009 --> 00:05:16.629 Oh, the PL -259s from Tower Electronics? Yes, 00:05:16.670 --> 00:05:18.970 they were very successful at the antenna party. 00:05:19.350 --> 00:05:22.629 My antenna works like a charm. Then how can you 00:05:22.629 --> 00:05:25.089 ever thank me? I'll try to think of something. 00:05:25.430 --> 00:05:28.689 Don't be caught without PL -259s. Visit Tower 00:05:28.689 --> 00:05:31.310 Electronics at a ham fest near you. Or visit 00:05:31.310 --> 00:05:35.439 them online anytime at PL -259 .com. or call 00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:40.839 920 -435 -2973. They have adapters, cables, antennas, 00:05:41.180 --> 00:06:16.250 soldering supplies, and meters too. Thanks to 00:06:16.250 --> 00:06:19.230 Scott and Jill at Tower Electronics for sponsoring 00:06:19.230 --> 00:06:22.589 the show again tonight. To help bring you HamTalk 00:06:22.589 --> 00:06:28.589 Live, they are dividing and conquering here for 00:06:28.589 --> 00:06:32.529 a month or so. So they've got two shows some 00:06:32.529 --> 00:06:37.370 weekends. The 11th, they're at the Tark Fest 00:06:37.370 --> 00:06:41.949 in Tampa, Florida. On the 18th, Fort Myers, Florida. 00:06:42.379 --> 00:06:47.480 the 19th Wheaton, Illinois, the 25th of January, 00:06:47.860 --> 00:06:51.579 Arcadia, Florida, and Collinsville, Illinois. 00:06:51.740 --> 00:06:58.720 And you can always catch them at PL -259 .com. 00:06:59.339 --> 00:07:02.860 Well, Paul Stetzer, N8HM is with us tonight. 00:07:02.939 --> 00:07:07.560 He is the executive vice president of the Radio 00:07:07.560 --> 00:07:11.970 Amateur. Satellite Corporation or AMSAT North 00:07:11.970 --> 00:07:16.370 America. He is also a member of AMSAT UK in the 00:07:16.370 --> 00:07:20.050 Potomac Valley Radio Club. Paul became first 00:07:20.050 --> 00:07:22.910 licensed at the age of 14 and upgraded to extra 00:07:22.910 --> 00:07:26.310 within a few months and he has a long list of 00:07:26.310 --> 00:07:29.129 awards he's earned on the air and formerly a 00:07:29.129 --> 00:07:33.089 member of the Michigan State University amateur 00:07:33.089 --> 00:07:36.730 radio club. So if it wasn't a copyright violation, 00:07:36.870 --> 00:07:38.970 I might play the Michigan State fight song for 00:07:38.970 --> 00:07:43.449 you, Paul, but it's a copyright violation. So 00:07:43.449 --> 00:07:46.589 I guess we won't do that. Yeah, thanks, Neil. 00:07:46.649 --> 00:07:49.990 And it's good to be back. In fact, I'm missing 00:07:49.990 --> 00:07:53.350 an MSU basketball game the first half of the 00:07:53.350 --> 00:07:56.850 year. Oh, no. Oh, my. That's no problem. Now, 00:07:56.949 --> 00:08:00.879 that's what you call sacrifice. When you when 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:07.879 you miss party for ham talk live Wow, okay Well, 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:11.959 it's good to have you back and the 50th celebration 00:08:11.959 --> 00:08:16.639 the 50th anniversary celebration is In the book. 00:08:16.680 --> 00:08:19.360 So let's let's talk a little bit. What about 00:08:19.360 --> 00:08:23.300 what happened? I got to be a little bit in and 00:08:23.300 --> 00:08:28.779 involved in it with the W3 ZM activation So, 00:08:28.779 --> 00:08:32.360 why don't we talk about that? Okay, well, yeah, 00:08:32.360 --> 00:08:37.379 we had a great year celebrating 50 years of AMSAT. 00:08:38.340 --> 00:08:40.340 We had a number of events that we did on the 00:08:40.340 --> 00:08:45.379 air and in person as well. We had a couple of 00:08:45.379 --> 00:08:48.139 awards. The first was the Friends of 50 Award, 00:08:48.159 --> 00:08:52.340 which was easy enough, make 50 satellite contacts. 00:08:54.009 --> 00:08:57.909 50 different days and get an award for that. 00:08:58.730 --> 00:09:03.090 But our larger on -the -air event was using our 00:09:03.090 --> 00:09:05.370 club call and getting our club call activated 00:09:05.370 --> 00:09:09.370 from all 50 states. Something Robert Bankston, 00:09:09.470 --> 00:09:13.250 KE4AL, or Vice President of User Services came 00:09:13.250 --> 00:09:16.090 up with, basically based on what the AWS did 00:09:16.090 --> 00:09:19.830 for their centennial celebration back in 2014, 00:09:20.350 --> 00:09:24.509 although we did it in a much less formal. Fashion 00:09:24.509 --> 00:09:27.590 much less organized fashion really but it worked 00:09:27.590 --> 00:09:30.830 out great and we were able to get again Amstats 00:09:30.830 --> 00:09:36.370 Club call at W3 ZM which was actually in the 00:09:36.370 --> 00:09:40.990 issued in honor of Harry Helfrich, I'm not sure 00:09:40.990 --> 00:09:43.230 I'm pronouncing that name right, but he was he 00:09:43.230 --> 00:09:46.570 was a Amstats treasurer through the early years 00:09:46.570 --> 00:09:49.490 Unfortunately, he he passed away shortly before 00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:52.899 Oscar 6 was completed, and his name and call 00:09:52.899 --> 00:09:57.419 signs actually emblazoned on Oscar 6, now orbiting 00:09:57.419 --> 00:10:00.720 the Earth at about 1 ,400 kilometers, good tribute 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:04.159 to him. But shortly afterwards, AMSAT received 00:10:04.159 --> 00:10:08.379 his call sign as a club call. So we were able 00:10:08.379 --> 00:10:11.759 to activate that. Again, from all 50 states, 00:10:11.879 --> 00:10:14.759 as well as Puerto Rico and here in Washington, 00:10:14.759 --> 00:10:18.179 D .C. as well. We made about 2 ,000 QSOs between 00:10:18.179 --> 00:10:22.740 mid -June and leading up to our AMSAT Symposium 00:10:22.740 --> 00:10:27.460 in Arlington in October. Yeah, that was pretty 00:10:27.460 --> 00:10:32.220 cool. I got a few in from Indiana and I think 00:10:32.220 --> 00:10:37.789 Ohio and Kentucky maybe even. Didn't get a whole 00:10:37.789 --> 00:10:39.649 lot of them in there, but I know there were a 00:10:39.649 --> 00:10:42.450 lot of them and and sometimes we'd talk to each 00:10:42.450 --> 00:10:46.889 other Which was kind of weird? It'd be three 00:10:46.889 --> 00:10:50.409 ZM portable nine. This is w3 said it for you 00:10:50.409 --> 00:10:57.149 portable eight Yes, always fun when that happens 00:10:58.030 --> 00:11:00.929 Yeah. Well, let's talk a little bit about the 00:11:00.929 --> 00:11:04.809 big party. We had the AMSAT symposium going on 00:11:04.809 --> 00:11:08.610 and had the cake and everything to make it official. 00:11:09.370 --> 00:11:12.570 And you had some pretty special guests there 00:11:12.570 --> 00:11:16.529 as well. So let's talk a little bit about the 00:11:16.529 --> 00:11:20.950 big celebration. Yeah. So in mid -October here 00:11:20.950 --> 00:11:24.110 in Arlington, Virginia, just outside of Washington, 00:11:24.110 --> 00:11:30.110 DC here, we had our annual symposium, and we 00:11:30.110 --> 00:11:33.009 had several special guests. We had Lance Jenner, 00:11:33.070 --> 00:11:38.149 K6GSJ, who was from Project Oscar. He actually 00:11:38.149 --> 00:11:40.389 was one of the builders of the first amateur 00:11:40.389 --> 00:11:45.690 radio satellite, Oscar I, that launched in 1961, 00:11:46.169 --> 00:11:49.769 so he was able to join us. And it was, just as 00:11:49.769 --> 00:11:53.120 a side note, it was very neat to see him. We 00:11:53.120 --> 00:11:55.980 went on Sunday, we had a tour of the Udvar -Hazy 00:11:55.980 --> 00:11:58.480 Center here, which is an annex of the Air and 00:11:58.480 --> 00:12:01.139 Space Museum out near Dallas Airport, and one 00:12:01.139 --> 00:12:08.200 of the launch vehicles that Oscar One was on, 00:12:08.220 --> 00:12:11.220 the same type, there's actually a model of it 00:12:11.220 --> 00:12:13.759 there, and he was able to point to the spot where 00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:16.220 they mounted Oscar One. You can see why it's 00:12:16.220 --> 00:12:18.480 shaped the way it is, if anybody has seen a picture 00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:22.450 of Oscar One. It shaped a specific way to fit 00:12:22.450 --> 00:12:25.610 a specific opening on the rocket, and it was 00:12:25.610 --> 00:12:29.769 cool to see him point out that part at the Air 00:12:29.769 --> 00:12:33.710 and Space Museum. In addition to Lance, we had 00:12:33.710 --> 00:12:40.360 George Jacobs, W3ASK. In his mid -90s now, he 00:12:40.360 --> 00:12:43.980 was a columnist for CQ Magazine for a number 00:12:43.980 --> 00:12:48.840 of years, as well as in the Foreign Service here 00:12:48.840 --> 00:12:52.620 in the United States as well. He was one of the 00:12:52.620 --> 00:12:58.340 people who made the connection from the California 00:12:58.340 --> 00:13:03.240 Project Oscar when their opportunities for launches 00:13:03.240 --> 00:13:06.100 started to diminish because the center of the 00:13:06.100 --> 00:13:08.769 space industry really moved out from out. in 00:13:08.769 --> 00:13:12.190 California out to here in the Washington, D .C. 00:13:12.190 --> 00:13:14.389 area with the opening of Goddard Space Flight 00:13:14.389 --> 00:13:19.690 Center. So he helped to connect interested hams 00:13:19.690 --> 00:13:23.750 here. Perry Klein, W3PK, our founding president, 00:13:24.110 --> 00:13:30.389 Jan Keen, W3GEY, were also both at the symposium. 00:13:30.750 --> 00:13:32.610 And he kind of connected them to the product 00:13:32.610 --> 00:13:36.629 Oscar. And that led to both to the formation 00:13:36.629 --> 00:13:42.059 of AMSAT as well as the first project. So AmSAT's 00:13:42.059 --> 00:13:46.419 first project, after we were founded in 1969, 00:13:47.159 --> 00:13:50.240 was to arrange the launch of a satellite that 00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:53.320 had been built by students at the University 00:13:53.320 --> 00:13:59.019 of Melbourne in Australia. They had written to 00:13:59.019 --> 00:14:01.740 Project Oscar and asked them, if we build a satellite, 00:14:01.820 --> 00:14:04.200 can you get a launch for it? And Project Oscar 00:14:04.200 --> 00:14:09.659 replied, We'll try our best. They completed their 00:14:09.659 --> 00:14:14.139 satellite and sent it over to California. where 00:14:14.139 --> 00:14:18.840 it sat for a couple of years before it was brought 00:14:18.840 --> 00:14:23.559 cross -country after AMSAT was founded and launched 00:14:23.559 --> 00:14:28.940 on January 23rd of 1970. So the 50th anniversary 00:14:28.940 --> 00:14:31.840 of the launch, the first satellite launch arranged 00:14:31.840 --> 00:14:36.000 by AMSAT is coming up here in two weeks. So we 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:40.740 had Dr. Owen Mase and Richard Tonkin who were 00:14:40.740 --> 00:14:44.059 both involved in that effort. They flew over 00:14:44.059 --> 00:14:47.799 here to speak about their experience building 00:14:47.799 --> 00:14:53.740 AO5, Australis, Oscar V, and all their experience 00:14:53.740 --> 00:14:56.860 with that. We had a great Saturday evening banquet. 00:14:57.960 --> 00:15:00.620 If anybody's interested in seeing the panel of 00:15:00.620 --> 00:15:04.299 speakers, all these ... All these guys spoke 00:15:04.299 --> 00:15:08.960 at a banquet panel, and that video is on AMSAT's 00:15:08.960 --> 00:15:11.259 YouTube channel. If you search for the foundations 00:15:11.259 --> 00:15:15.480 of AMSAT, you'll find it and be able to view 00:15:15.480 --> 00:15:19.899 the banquet speeches yourself. It was a great 00:15:19.899 --> 00:15:23.919 event. All of our living former presidents were 00:15:23.919 --> 00:15:28.809 in attendance. big cake celebration on Friday 00:15:28.809 --> 00:15:31.169 night. So it was a great event, a great celebration 00:15:31.169 --> 00:15:33.950 of the past 50 years as well as I look forward 00:15:33.950 --> 00:15:38.509 to the next 50 years. Okay, now I remember Patrick 00:15:38.509 --> 00:15:44.389 talking about a symposium a few years ago in 00:15:44.389 --> 00:15:47.169 Washington DC, so I have to ask the question. 00:15:49.610 --> 00:15:53.090 Was anybody interrogated by the Secret Service 00:15:53.090 --> 00:15:56.649 or police or anything with their arrow antennas? 00:15:56.909 --> 00:15:59.870 trying to operate. during the symposium? No, 00:15:59.950 --> 00:16:04.629 no. Well, no. Yeah, the area of Arlington, Virginia 00:16:04.629 --> 00:16:07.389 that we were in isn't necessarily too near the 00:16:07.389 --> 00:16:10.870 Pentagon or any secret facilities or sensitive 00:16:10.870 --> 00:16:13.769 facilities, at least that we know about. And 00:16:13.769 --> 00:16:16.669 really, the horizon in Arlington wasn't great. 00:16:16.750 --> 00:16:19.149 There was only a couple of passes. I think just 00:16:19.149 --> 00:16:23.110 one pass anybody actually worked during the symposium 00:16:23.110 --> 00:16:27.149 itself next to the hotel. But not a great... 00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:30.539 Not a great place to operate from with all the 00:16:30.539 --> 00:16:35.159 tall buildings near the hotel. Well, I had to 00:16:35.159 --> 00:16:41.320 ask, so I did my duty there. Well, you know, 00:16:41.799 --> 00:16:45.200 the past 50 years has been pretty amazing and 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:50.659 there's a lot that's happened and it's just incredible 00:16:50.659 --> 00:16:55.679 that these things can be engineered and put together 00:16:55.679 --> 00:17:02.039 and affordable and launched and you know you 00:17:02.039 --> 00:17:05.640 gotta play around with launch schedules and we'll 00:17:05.640 --> 00:17:08.240 talk about that a little bit in some of the upcoming 00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:11.700 launches but it's just there's just a lot of 00:17:11.700 --> 00:17:14.279 things that have to come together to make this 00:17:14.279 --> 00:17:17.940 all happen and so we've got fifty years of of 00:17:17.940 --> 00:17:22.599 history behind us. Let's take a look at the next 00:17:22.599 --> 00:17:26.420 50 years. What's coming up in the next 50 years 00:17:26.420 --> 00:17:31.359 and what's coming up next? What's coming up soon? 00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:35.720 Well, I guess we'll talk about both the immediate 00:17:35.720 --> 00:17:39.799 short term and then we'll talk about the... future 00:17:39.799 --> 00:17:44.079 beyond that but You know pace hasn't slowed down 00:17:44.079 --> 00:17:47.200 at all We're gearing up here for some some exciting 00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:50.680 events coming up in just just a few weeks time 00:17:50.680 --> 00:17:55.779 the Husky sat one. It's not amsat satellite. 00:17:55.779 --> 00:17:58.759 It was built by by students at the University 00:17:58.759 --> 00:18:03.240 of Washington But that that satellite is currently 00:18:04.240 --> 00:18:08.059 in orbit. It's currently on board the Cygnus 00:18:08.059 --> 00:18:11.359 spacecraft, the Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo 00:18:11.359 --> 00:18:13.480 spacecraft, and it's currently berthed to the 00:18:13.480 --> 00:18:20.279 ISS. So it is in space. In a couple weeks' time, 00:18:21.599 --> 00:18:25.539 the Cygnus is going to leave the ISS, move up 00:18:25.539 --> 00:18:29.299 to a slightly higher orbit, and then deploy HuskySat 00:18:29.299 --> 00:18:34.859 1 into orbit here. Again, that's Coming up in 00:18:34.859 --> 00:18:39.539 a couple weeks the exact date isn't quite quite 00:18:39.539 --> 00:18:43.900 known yet, but Once that once the satellite is 00:18:43.900 --> 00:18:47.880 deployed now Husky sat 1 is a 3u cube set that 00:18:47.880 --> 00:18:51.119 carries some experiments a pulse plasma thruster 00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:55.079 to test how that works and in orbit as well as 00:18:55.079 --> 00:18:57.759 As well as a 24 gigahertz transmitter to test 00:18:57.759 --> 00:19:02.000 some high -speed microwave data from low Earth 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:04.859 orbit to the ground station at the University 00:19:04.859 --> 00:19:07.920 of Washington. Once that mission is complete, 00:19:08.140 --> 00:19:12.140 there's also an AMSAT VHF -UHF transponder on 00:19:12.140 --> 00:19:16.059 board. It's a linear transponder that will receive 00:19:16.059 --> 00:19:20.579 at VHF and retransmit at UHF. So the idea is, 00:19:20.839 --> 00:19:23.480 again, once they're done with their science mission, 00:19:24.119 --> 00:19:27.519 the satellite... is going to be turned over to 00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:29.759 AMSAT, and the amateur community is going to 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:33.380 have access to that transponder. So, again, that 00:19:33.380 --> 00:19:36.019 deployment should be coming up near the, probably 00:19:36.019 --> 00:19:42.059 at the end of January, and then after the mission 00:19:42.059 --> 00:19:45.059 is complete, again, amateurs will have the opportunity 00:19:45.059 --> 00:19:53.529 to use that satellite. Also, upcoming is the 00:19:53.529 --> 00:19:57.250 fifth and final of the FOX -1 satellites, RedFXSat 00:19:57.250 --> 00:20:01.269 -2, also known as FOX -1E. That's scheduled to 00:20:01.269 --> 00:20:03.549 launch no earlier than the first quarter of this 00:20:03.549 --> 00:20:07.849 year, though. It's manifest on the second flight 00:20:07.849 --> 00:20:11.910 of Virgin Orbit's Launcher 1 air launch to orbit. 00:20:12.220 --> 00:20:16.960 system that goes up at 747 and then the the the 00:20:16.960 --> 00:20:21.819 rockets fired from the from the 747 into orbit 00:20:21.819 --> 00:20:24.940 Virgin orbit is appears to be targeting a test 00:20:24.940 --> 00:20:28.460 launch in mid -february So assuming that stays 00:20:28.460 --> 00:20:32.980 on schedule and goes as planned, you know within 00:20:32.980 --> 00:20:36.960 a couple months after that would probably be 00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:39.559 the the second launch although again, that's 00:20:39.980 --> 00:20:44.980 not known at this time when exactly that launch 00:20:44.980 --> 00:20:47.779 will occur. Officially, the launch is no earlier 00:20:47.779 --> 00:20:52.619 than first quarter of this year. But as always, 00:20:52.859 --> 00:20:55.019 launches do tend to slip. We've been saying no 00:20:55.019 --> 00:21:03.079 earlier than for a long time for that one. That's 00:21:03.079 --> 00:21:06.039 part of the challenges of getting things into 00:21:06.039 --> 00:21:12.109 orbit. delays and more delays Yes, especially 00:21:12.109 --> 00:21:17.150 when you're again we were This is a launch that's 00:21:17.150 --> 00:21:19.390 provided through through NASA's CubeSat launch 00:21:19.390 --> 00:21:23.029 initiative It is you know, we do get the launch 00:21:23.029 --> 00:21:28.250 paid for But again, we don't we have to fly whenever 00:21:28.250 --> 00:21:31.630 whenever whenever we fly, right? So we don't 00:21:31.630 --> 00:21:35.900 really get that much of a say in that, but again, 00:21:36.339 --> 00:21:42.779 you can't beat the price. And then after that, 00:21:43.519 --> 00:21:46.119 or maybe after or before, we don't know, right? 00:21:46.680 --> 00:21:51.519 But in March, the first flight unit of the Aeris 00:21:51.519 --> 00:21:54.420 Next Generation radio system is scheduled to 00:21:54.420 --> 00:21:58.700 launch to the International Space Station on 00:21:58.700 --> 00:22:04.950 SpaceX's CRS -20 resupply mission. and that radio 00:22:04.950 --> 00:22:10.809 system provide a much needed upgrade to the radios 00:22:10.809 --> 00:22:13.990 that are currently in the Columbus module of 00:22:13.990 --> 00:22:19.809 the ISS. Everybody who has worked ISS packet 00:22:19.809 --> 00:22:24.650 in the past knows that system has been up and 00:22:24.650 --> 00:22:30.470 down now for the past couple of years and this 00:22:30.470 --> 00:22:37.000 will provide that that capability again, hopefully 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:41.380 make it more reliable and also open the door 00:22:41.380 --> 00:22:44.140 to a lot of different options here in the future. 00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:47.960 One thing that's been available on the ISS in 00:22:47.960 --> 00:22:52.039 the past was a FM repeater, but that hasn't been 00:22:52.039 --> 00:22:55.460 activated for several, basically activated for 00:22:55.460 --> 00:22:58.710 the public for several years. So again, hopefully 00:22:58.710 --> 00:23:03.069 this new radio system is designed with some thermal 00:23:03.069 --> 00:23:05.750 modifications and such to be able to run it for 00:23:05.750 --> 00:23:09.369 longer durations. And hopefully there'll be more 00:23:09.369 --> 00:23:13.710 opportunity to utilize both the packet DigiPeder 00:23:13.710 --> 00:23:17.910 system as well as the FM repeater on board the 00:23:17.910 --> 00:23:22.490 ISS once that gets into orbit and gets set up 00:23:22.490 --> 00:23:26.339 here coming up in the next few months. Now I've 00:23:26.339 --> 00:23:29.200 got a question that just popped into my head 00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:33.920 and we've been talking about You know a lot of 00:23:33.920 --> 00:23:39.079 the Replacement ISS radios and fundraising and 00:23:39.079 --> 00:23:41.500 trying to get that all going real excited about 00:23:41.500 --> 00:23:46.380 all of that but now Something just kind of popped 00:23:46.380 --> 00:23:48.079 into my head and I don't know if you know the 00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:53.829 answer to this, but I'll ask it Does the old 00:23:53.829 --> 00:23:59.029 radio come back and if so, what's done with it? 00:23:59.809 --> 00:24:01.890 Well, that's that that's a good question. I don't 00:24:01.890 --> 00:24:05.329 know the answer to that whether or not that will 00:24:05.329 --> 00:24:10.029 be That will be stowed whether or not it will 00:24:10.029 --> 00:24:14.650 be returned on a dragon that has the capability, 00:24:14.809 --> 00:24:17.609 the down -mass capability to bring experiments 00:24:17.609 --> 00:24:20.990 back to Earth, or if, given that it is end of 00:24:20.990 --> 00:24:25.450 life, it's possible that it would be discarded 00:24:25.450 --> 00:24:29.789 in a cargo, such as a Progress or other cargo 00:24:29.789 --> 00:24:33.329 craft that actually burns up in the atmosphere. 00:24:34.410 --> 00:24:40.150 I don't know the answer to that. Hopefully it 00:24:40.150 --> 00:24:43.150 will be brought back at some point and made available 00:24:43.150 --> 00:24:48.910 as an item to display as something that's spent. 00:24:49.690 --> 00:24:52.789 I mean, the Ericsson HT in the Columbus module 00:24:52.789 --> 00:24:56.210 is something that's been there since the ISS 00:24:56.210 --> 00:25:01.250 was first. populated in 2000, so it's been up 00:25:01.250 --> 00:25:03.309 there a real long time, so it would be nice to 00:25:03.309 --> 00:25:05.029 have that piece of history. I don't know the 00:25:05.029 --> 00:25:11.009 answer to that. Just curiosity, it might be kind 00:25:11.009 --> 00:25:14.529 of cool to figure out, you know, what failed. 00:25:16.470 --> 00:25:20.390 Maybe learn from it. That's true too. Well, the 00:25:20.390 --> 00:25:25.069 radio, I guess the Ericsson, actually I guess 00:25:25.069 --> 00:25:27.069 the Ericsson up there now was actually a replacement 00:25:27.069 --> 00:25:29.859 if I remember correctly. uh getting into the 00:25:29.859 --> 00:25:33.660 weeds a little bit there uh but uh yeah um like 00:25:33.660 --> 00:25:36.160 i said i i that yeah that's certainly would be 00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:40.920 uh would be a neat to to get it back i i don't 00:25:40.920 --> 00:25:44.900 know if that's planned yeah well that's the immediate 00:25:44.900 --> 00:25:48.779 future no no let's let's go long range here what 00:25:48.779 --> 00:25:53.140 what's the long range plane Well, there are two 00:25:53.140 --> 00:25:56.960 major projects that we're working on. One of 00:25:56.960 --> 00:26:02.579 the exciting projects is amateur radio on the 00:26:02.579 --> 00:26:06.859 Lunar Gateway. We're working with our ARIS partners, 00:26:06.980 --> 00:26:11.619 including other AMSATs around the world, to develop 00:26:11.619 --> 00:26:15.690 a radio system. an amateur radio system for the 00:26:15.690 --> 00:26:18.990 lunar gateway. The lunar gateway is a space station, 00:26:19.650 --> 00:26:21.710 a small space station that's going to be built 00:26:21.710 --> 00:26:25.630 by NASA and others to be placed in lunar orbit 00:26:25.630 --> 00:26:29.910 and to serve as a waypoint for future manned 00:26:29.910 --> 00:26:35.670 missions in the Artemis project to land crewed 00:26:35.670 --> 00:26:42.359 missions on the moon. We are working on that 00:26:42.359 --> 00:26:46.440 again with all of the various amateur radio on 00:26:46.440 --> 00:26:48.319 the International Space Station partners as well 00:26:48.319 --> 00:26:51.200 as other AMSAT groups to design that system. 00:26:51.319 --> 00:26:55.660 Now the system would include the ability for 00:26:55.660 --> 00:26:58.799 the same types of activities on the ISS such 00:26:58.799 --> 00:27:03.980 as school contacts. Now Lunar Gateway won't be 00:27:03.980 --> 00:27:06.660 crewed the entire time, it'll only be crewed 00:27:06.660 --> 00:27:10.140 at certain periods of time, but when there are 00:27:10.140 --> 00:27:13.059 astronauts on board, there would be the potential 00:27:13.059 --> 00:27:17.420 for two -way school contacts with the astronauts 00:27:17.420 --> 00:27:20.220 in the lunar orbit, which would be really quite 00:27:20.220 --> 00:27:24.319 an experience, even more so than simply on the 00:27:24.319 --> 00:27:27.420 ISS. Take that to another level when these are 00:27:27.420 --> 00:27:32.160 orbiting the moon 240 ,000 miles away. That would 00:27:32.160 --> 00:27:37.539 be quite an experience. The other opportunity 00:27:37.539 --> 00:27:41.500 would be actually the opportunity for students 00:27:41.500 --> 00:27:44.900 and others to interact with experiments on board 00:27:44.900 --> 00:27:48.119 Lunar Gateway actually through sending data and 00:27:48.119 --> 00:27:50.099 commands back and forth and getting telemetry 00:27:50.099 --> 00:27:53.839 data from experiments on board. And then the 00:27:53.839 --> 00:27:56.299 other opportunity would be the other feature 00:27:56.299 --> 00:28:02.079 of the system would be a two -way system that 00:28:02.079 --> 00:28:06.220 would allow for Q so is over basically worldwide 00:28:06.220 --> 00:28:12.720 as the orbit the moon progressed Now this would 00:28:12.720 --> 00:28:16.000 this would be using probably a 10 gigahertz downlink 00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:20.380 and then likely they're 2 .45 5 .6 gigahertz 00:28:20.380 --> 00:28:25.490 for an uplink and It actually doesn't cost as 00:28:25.490 --> 00:28:28.930 much as you might think. It's something that 00:28:28.930 --> 00:28:30.809 a lot of people, those frequencies are something 00:28:30.809 --> 00:28:34.670 that a lot of people, a lot of hams haven't utilized 00:28:34.670 --> 00:28:39.089 in the past, but there are ways to do it that 00:28:39.089 --> 00:28:44.150 are inexpensive and don't require a ton of investment 00:28:44.150 --> 00:28:47.049 in equipment. So it should be something that 00:28:47.049 --> 00:28:50.359 should be accessible. to the average hand with 00:28:50.359 --> 00:28:53.759 a dish that wouldn't be too large and equipment 00:28:53.759 --> 00:29:01.019 that wouldn't be too expensive. So in a similar 00:29:01.019 --> 00:29:04.859 vein would be, in addition to the Lunar Gateway 00:29:04.859 --> 00:29:07.720 Project, our major satellite project at this 00:29:07.720 --> 00:29:11.680 time is GOLF, which is not only the next letter 00:29:11.680 --> 00:29:18.069 phonetically from FOX, FOX, GOLF, but also Bacronym, 00:29:18.269 --> 00:29:21.069 I suppose, for greater orbit and larger footprint. 00:29:21.890 --> 00:29:25.289 So the first golf satellite is currently under 00:29:25.289 --> 00:29:29.430 development, Golf T. And again, another sort 00:29:29.430 --> 00:29:35.269 of a Bacronym for a technology evaluation environment. 00:29:35.930 --> 00:29:38.970 Sorry if I got that wrong. Any of the engineers 00:29:38.970 --> 00:29:45.470 are listening, but it's designed as a testbed 00:29:45.470 --> 00:29:50.970 for technologies that we would need for putting 00:29:50.970 --> 00:29:54.049 CubeSats in higher and higher orbits. We're talking 00:29:54.049 --> 00:30:02.230 about returns to HEO type orbits in a CubeSat 00:30:02.230 --> 00:30:07.609 form factor. Now the previous satellites in high 00:30:07.609 --> 00:30:13.369 Earth orbit were 150 kilograms. For AO -10 and 00:30:13.369 --> 00:30:18.269 AO -13 were 150 kilograms each. And then AO -40 00:30:18.269 --> 00:30:21.930 I believe had 625 kilograms or something like 00:30:21.930 --> 00:30:27.829 that. So now getting that sort of launch today 00:30:27.829 --> 00:30:34.160 is incredibly expensive. it's really outside 00:30:34.160 --> 00:30:37.420 of the budgetary resources. So what the golf 00:30:37.420 --> 00:30:41.059 project is about is trying to replicate as much 00:30:41.059 --> 00:30:45.039 of that communication capability through a CubeSat. 00:30:46.799 --> 00:30:49.519 And the first two golf satellites, Golf T and 00:30:49.519 --> 00:30:53.119 Golf One, are planned to be 3U CubeSats, so about 00:30:53.119 --> 00:30:56.660 the size of a loaf of bread, the same size as 00:30:56.660 --> 00:30:58.619 the HuskySat one that I talked about earlier. 00:30:59.369 --> 00:31:02.369 there were three essentially three times a Fox 00:31:02.369 --> 00:31:07.190 satellite and These are gonna be these are evolutions 00:31:07.190 --> 00:31:10.289 on the Fox satellite, but they'll have deployable 00:31:10.289 --> 00:31:13.750 solar panels Active attitude control so it can 00:31:13.750 --> 00:31:19.430 keep its antennas pointed at the earth Stably 00:31:19.430 --> 00:31:23.950 pointed at the earth Potentially have propulsion 00:31:23.950 --> 00:31:28.329 deorbiting systems one of the complications that 00:31:28.329 --> 00:31:34.680 didn't exist 30, 40 years ago is the requirement 00:31:34.680 --> 00:31:39.539 for orbital debris mitigation. When you launch 00:31:39.539 --> 00:31:42.720 something now, it has to either go to a safe 00:31:42.720 --> 00:31:46.059 parking orbit that's well outside of any populated 00:31:46.059 --> 00:31:50.559 areas of orbit, like between 500 and 1 ,000 kilometers, 00:31:51.019 --> 00:31:55.680 or outside of that geostationary belt. well clear 00:31:55.680 --> 00:31:58.900 of that, or you have to reenter within, currently 00:31:58.900 --> 00:32:01.220 within 25 years, although there are movements 00:32:01.220 --> 00:32:05.339 to even shorten that up. So we just can't get 00:32:05.339 --> 00:32:08.579 a satellite launch to 1 ,500 kilometers, 1 ,400, 00:32:09.200 --> 00:32:14.000 60 kilometers like A07 is right now because those 00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:18.900 orbits would not, do not naturally decay in 25 00:32:18.900 --> 00:32:23.920 years, more like a couple thousand. So we do 00:32:23.920 --> 00:32:27.420 need to have the capability to to de orbit or 00:32:27.420 --> 00:32:30.619 Move these satellites into what's called a parking 00:32:30.619 --> 00:32:35.279 orbit? So that's that's a challenge the attitude 00:32:35.279 --> 00:32:38.259 control is a challenge and then the RF is a challenge 00:32:38.259 --> 00:32:43.319 so if we're talking about going to Highly elliptical 00:32:43.319 --> 00:32:47.480 orbit a high -earth orbit that has an Apigee 00:32:47.480 --> 00:32:51.230 up at near the geostationary belted to run 35 00:32:51.230 --> 00:32:56.789 ,000 kilometers the path loss and the to that 00:32:56.789 --> 00:33:01.289 to that that far away Basically requires us to 00:33:01.289 --> 00:33:04.730 use in the available power in a CubeSat the available 00:33:04.730 --> 00:33:06.950 space because there's not a lot of room for any 00:33:06.950 --> 00:33:10.269 sort of antenna requires the use of microwave 00:33:10.269 --> 00:33:14.509 frequencies and was all sorts of other things 00:33:14.509 --> 00:33:19.799 but Again, we're looking at 10 gigahertz, 5 .6 00:33:19.799 --> 00:33:24.039 gigahertz, potentially 1 .2, 2 .4 gigahertz to 00:33:24.039 --> 00:33:27.599 test out and to see what produces the best results. 00:33:28.500 --> 00:33:31.599 But the core transponder in the golf series will 00:33:31.599 --> 00:33:34.420 be a software -defined radio that will be able 00:33:34.420 --> 00:33:37.700 to be configured in any number of different types 00:33:37.700 --> 00:33:41.740 of channel configurations used for digital voice 00:33:41.740 --> 00:33:46.519 technologies. data technologies and all sorts 00:33:46.519 --> 00:33:53.500 of things to efficiently relay communications 00:33:53.500 --> 00:33:57.500 across that long of a distance with having such 00:33:57.500 --> 00:34:01.079 a small power in orbit and while not requiring 00:34:01.079 --> 00:34:07.440 any EME class giant dishes here on Earth. We'd 00:34:07.440 --> 00:34:10.719 like these to be accessible using a one meter 00:34:11.019 --> 00:34:16.719 or less dish, something that most hams could 00:34:16.719 --> 00:34:24.119 put together. Lots and lots of things to work 00:34:24.119 --> 00:34:32.139 on and get right before these take place and 00:34:32.139 --> 00:34:37.480 I admire the the foresight and the challenges 00:34:37.480 --> 00:34:41.780 and accepting those of making all that work because 00:34:41.780 --> 00:34:47.769 that's a lot to take on. Well, we're... do for 00:34:47.769 --> 00:34:49.989 a break or we're a little over so we're going 00:34:49.989 --> 00:34:52.630 to take a break right now and we're going to 00:34:52.630 --> 00:34:55.170 come back we've got a couple of questions and 00:34:55.170 --> 00:34:59.030 you said the word geostationary so we're going 00:34:59.030 --> 00:35:02.349 to come back and pick up a question about geostationary 00:35:02.349 --> 00:35:08.889 here and take your calls live at 812 -638 -4261 00:35:08.889 --> 00:35:11.650 when we come back after this word from ICOM right 00:35:11.650 --> 00:35:15.809 here on HamTalk Live. New year, new savings. 00:35:16.119 --> 00:35:19.000 Bring in the new year loud and clear with some 00:35:19.000 --> 00:35:22.559 of ICOM's most innovative products. Check out 00:35:22.559 --> 00:35:25.559 the website for current promotions on ICOM's 00:35:25.559 --> 00:35:31.650 IC7610 7300 and 9700. 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ICOM's IC9700 is the pinnacle 00:36:35.280 --> 00:36:39.059 of perfection. a 4 .3 -inch color touch screen, 00:36:39.320 --> 00:36:42.739 dual watch operation and full duplex operation 00:36:42.739 --> 00:36:45.840 in satellite mode, real -time high -speed spectrum 00:36:45.840 --> 00:36:48.360 scope and waterfall display, voice recording 00:36:48.360 --> 00:36:51.039 and playback function with the SD memory card, 00:36:51.380 --> 00:36:55.219 and it supports CW, AM, Sideband, FM, Ready and 00:36:55.219 --> 00:37:00.659 D -Star, DV and DD modes. Visit www .icomamerica 00:37:00.659 --> 00:37:04.880 .com slash amateur for more information on ICOM 00:37:04.880 --> 00:37:09.010 radios. Join the conversation. Give us a call 00:37:09.010 --> 00:37:16.030 at 812 -NET -HAM -1. That's 812 -638 -4261. Now, 00:37:16.090 --> 00:37:25.610 here's more HamTalk Live! Sorry for the delay. 00:37:25.889 --> 00:37:29.050 Your host, Neil Rapp, is reading a book on anti 00:37:29.050 --> 00:37:32.289 -gravity and he just can't put it down. Now, 00:37:32.329 --> 00:37:58.679 here's more HamTalk Live! Thanks to ICOM for 00:37:58.679 --> 00:38:01.539 sponsoring the show each and every week check 00:38:01.539 --> 00:38:06.679 them out at icomamerica .com Slash amateur ham 00:38:06.679 --> 00:38:09.000 talk lives on the air every Thursday night 9 00:38:09.000 --> 00:38:12.559 p .m Eastern time at ham talk live comm and be 00:38:12.559 --> 00:38:15.440 sure to check us out on Facebook Twitter and 00:38:15.440 --> 00:38:18.920 Instagram and it is time once again for your 00:38:18.920 --> 00:38:21.619 phone calls So if you have a question for Paul, 00:38:21.619 --> 00:38:26.699 give us a call at 812 six three eight four two 00:38:26.699 --> 00:38:30.960 six one eight one two net ham one or you can 00:38:30.960 --> 00:38:34.300 tweet us it's at ham talk live on Twitter and 00:38:34.300 --> 00:38:38.519 if you're listening to us on WTWW or on the podcast 00:38:38.519 --> 00:38:43.320 Edition or not here. Sorry It was Thursday night 00:38:43.320 --> 00:38:46.719 when we did this so You won't be able to call 00:38:46.719 --> 00:38:52.260 in tonight, but we do have a tweet here. So let's 00:38:51.960 --> 00:38:55.920 Take a look at that, Paul, if we can. It's from 00:38:55.920 --> 00:39:02.280 Steven N8Dez. And he says, is AMSAT North America 00:39:02.280 --> 00:39:05.909 Board of Directors looking... for launch opportunities 00:39:05.909 --> 00:39:10.690 other than leo uh... jealous of oscar one hundred 00:39:10.690 --> 00:39:14.690 in europe and uh... you know maybe some uh... 00:39:14.690 --> 00:39:18.170 millennia orbits and and he had to sneak in a 00:39:18.170 --> 00:39:22.369 go buckeye so i guess we'll give equal time there 00:39:22.369 --> 00:39:26.110 so uh... we'll let the ohio state fans have their 00:39:26.110 --> 00:39:31.079 moments alright so go ahead Well, yes, thanks 00:39:31.079 --> 00:39:33.880 for the question, Steven. Yeah, you know, we're 00:39:33.880 --> 00:39:36.719 always looking for, AMSAT is always looking for 00:39:36.719 --> 00:39:39.239 different opportunities and different ways to 00:39:39.239 --> 00:39:45.079 get to orbits higher than LEO. Now, most CubeSats 00:39:45.079 --> 00:39:50.920 are destined for low Earth orbit. Most missions 00:39:50.920 --> 00:39:54.039 don't. have a reason to go anywhere beyond there, 00:39:55.119 --> 00:39:57.239 and getting a launch for anything other than 00:39:57.239 --> 00:40:02.360 a CubeSat is certainly cost prohibitive. So it's 00:40:02.360 --> 00:40:06.840 a challenge. It's one that we are looking at. 00:40:08.359 --> 00:40:11.900 certainly looking for different launches to a 00:40:11.900 --> 00:40:15.139 variety of orbits. One thing that may be available 00:40:15.139 --> 00:40:20.920 for a future AMSAT satellite would be to launch 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:24.420 to a geostationary transfer orbit. Now certain 00:40:24.420 --> 00:40:26.940 launch sites for geostationary transfer orbits 00:40:26.940 --> 00:40:30.300 would provide, could provide similar coverage 00:40:30.639 --> 00:40:34.019 similar communications coverage to something 00:40:34.019 --> 00:40:39.260 like AO -10 when it's at Apogee. So essentially, 00:40:40.119 --> 00:40:43.920 worldwide coverage as a satellite progresses 00:40:43.920 --> 00:40:49.980 across the sky with different windows to different 00:40:49.980 --> 00:40:52.539 parts of the world. So it's something that certainly 00:40:52.539 --> 00:40:59.099 is possible. Now, one thing that would be a big 00:40:59.099 --> 00:41:02.199 investment of money. It's something that would 00:41:02.199 --> 00:41:07.099 require a significant fundraising campaign to 00:41:07.099 --> 00:41:12.320 accomplish. And we would want to make sure that 00:41:12.320 --> 00:41:17.739 the satellite that is launched is as good as 00:41:17.739 --> 00:41:21.179 well tested and as good as possible. And the 00:41:21.179 --> 00:41:24.110 technologies that are in the Gulf, satellites, 00:41:24.429 --> 00:41:27.969 like I said earlier, the attitude control, because 00:41:27.969 --> 00:41:31.849 if you have a patch antenna transmitting at 10 00:41:31.849 --> 00:41:37.070 gigahertz from 35 ,000 kilometers away, you certainly 00:41:37.070 --> 00:41:40.269 have to be pointed at the Earth for that to work. 00:41:42.650 --> 00:41:45.230 software -defined radio transponder that can 00:41:45.230 --> 00:41:49.650 that can be configured to accommodate different 00:41:49.650 --> 00:41:53.730 types of digital modes or different different 00:41:53.730 --> 00:41:56.469 channel bandwidths for different activities and 00:41:56.469 --> 00:42:00.230 such Maybe wide band channels narrow band channels 00:42:00.230 --> 00:42:03.070 that sort of thing You know that that's something 00:42:03.070 --> 00:42:06.210 that that we need to develop and we need to get 00:42:06.210 --> 00:42:09.650 right the computers the onboard computers and 00:42:10.280 --> 00:42:15.260 in the satellite need to be tolerant of the radiation, 00:42:15.559 --> 00:42:19.400 especially in a Molniya orbit or a geostationary 00:42:19.400 --> 00:42:21.500 transfer orbit or something like that. The satellite 00:42:21.500 --> 00:42:25.400 passes through Van Allen belts and is subjected 00:42:25.400 --> 00:42:28.639 to quite a dose of radiation. So the onboard 00:42:28.639 --> 00:42:30.639 computers, the internal housekeeping units, as 00:42:30.639 --> 00:42:33.659 they're referred to on satellites, need to be 00:42:33.659 --> 00:42:35.480 radiation tolerant. That's one of the things 00:42:35.480 --> 00:42:42.539 that's being developed for golf. propulsion to 00:42:42.539 --> 00:42:45.719 maintain the orbit that you want to maintain 00:42:45.719 --> 00:42:50.519 and deorbitate mechanisms either via active propulsion 00:42:50.519 --> 00:42:53.280 or some sort of passive system if that's possible 00:42:53.280 --> 00:42:58.659 from that orbit are all things that we want to 00:42:58.659 --> 00:43:01.119 make sure work. Number one, want to make sure 00:43:01.119 --> 00:43:06.650 that they work so that Spending a million dollars 00:43:06.650 --> 00:43:10.389 maybe at a launch to do this is something that 00:43:10.389 --> 00:43:15.010 is successful because it's it's it would be We 00:43:15.010 --> 00:43:17.130 would want to make sure that works if that would 00:43:17.130 --> 00:43:20.369 work if we were to Fundraise for and invest in 00:43:20.369 --> 00:43:25.590 that sort of launch the second the second problem 00:43:25.590 --> 00:43:28.690 with with getting to those types of orbits is 00:43:28.690 --> 00:43:31.860 not Not the financial part, but the regulators 00:43:31.860 --> 00:43:33.519 are going to want to know that you know what 00:43:33.519 --> 00:43:36.639 you're doing especially in terms of propulsion 00:43:36.639 --> 00:43:40.000 and and deorbiting so successfully demonstrating 00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:45.179 those operations in Leo with golf tee and golf 00:43:45.179 --> 00:43:48.320 one will certainly help to establish a track 00:43:48.320 --> 00:43:51.260 record that that we can successfully operate 00:43:51.260 --> 00:43:56.630 those systems on a CubeSat and Have that track 00:43:56.630 --> 00:44:00.590 record when going through the licensing process 00:44:00.590 --> 00:44:05.409 to get approval to do that, because the regulatory 00:44:05.409 --> 00:44:08.989 matters are something that is an underrated challenge 00:44:08.989 --> 00:44:12.130 for us at this point. It's certainly not all 00:44:12.130 --> 00:44:19.750 technical and not all financial, but the perception 00:44:19.750 --> 00:44:22.829 of the orbital debris problem and the public 00:44:23.340 --> 00:44:27.519 public policy with that, and the regulators want 00:44:27.519 --> 00:44:30.260 to make sure that you're not going to collide 00:44:30.260 --> 00:44:36.519 with other spacecraft, you're not going to stay 00:44:36.519 --> 00:44:39.719 in a desirable orbit as a dead satellite for 00:44:39.719 --> 00:44:46.780 hundreds of years. The worldwide consensus is 00:44:46.780 --> 00:44:50.929 that those who are building and launching satellites 00:44:50.929 --> 00:44:56.690 need to be responsible operators. We can't leave 00:44:56.690 --> 00:45:01.210 our trash lying around in orbit. The orbital 00:45:01.210 --> 00:45:06.730 resources are too valuable for the future. So 00:45:06.730 --> 00:45:11.030 we need to be able to demonstrate that if we're 00:45:11.030 --> 00:45:12.809 going up there, we're not going to cause a problem 00:45:12.809 --> 00:45:17.030 while we're up there. All kinds of challenges. 00:45:19.019 --> 00:45:25.059 I appreciate all of those and it's a learning 00:45:25.059 --> 00:45:29.760 process and so you know golf is a step in that 00:45:29.760 --> 00:45:34.699 direction and so we'll see how this all turns 00:45:34.699 --> 00:45:39.539 out but I too am a little jealous of the you 00:45:39.539 --> 00:45:44.320 know AO100 because last month was Yoda month 00:45:44.320 --> 00:45:48.099 and and so I was working with a lot of the kids 00:45:48.099 --> 00:45:51.639 to get them on the air and and I was seeing a 00:45:51.639 --> 00:45:57.599 lot of the the back chatter from Europe and all 00:45:57.599 --> 00:46:01.420 these kids over in Europe are like hey why don't 00:46:01.420 --> 00:46:07.699 I meet you on you know 100 all you know how 630 00:46:07.699 --> 00:46:12.300 sound and I'm just like That's so foreign to 00:46:12.300 --> 00:46:15.800 me because it's always Okay, you know, I've got 00:46:15.800 --> 00:46:19.539 this 10 -minute window and I got to be in the 00:46:19.539 --> 00:46:22.000 right place and I got to have it pointed just 00:46:22.000 --> 00:46:25.079 the right way and we got it, you know There's 00:46:25.079 --> 00:46:28.280 ten minutes and if you're not ready, it's gone 00:46:28.280 --> 00:46:34.149 and they're just like no 630 sound tonight Yeah 00:46:34.149 --> 00:46:38.769 No, and absolutely I agree that that is a the 00:46:38.769 --> 00:46:42.670 Qo 100 is a is a fantastic fantastic resource 00:46:42.670 --> 00:46:46.110 and certainly you know the amateur radio community 00:46:46.110 --> 00:46:49.989 over there has benefited greatly from from from 00:46:49.989 --> 00:46:54.670 the generosity of the the the company the SIL 00:46:54.670 --> 00:46:58.889 satellite company that that allowed the use of 00:46:59.340 --> 00:47:01.739 backup transponders essentially on the satellite 00:47:01.739 --> 00:47:05.880 to be used for amateur radio use. I can't state 00:47:05.880 --> 00:47:09.619 it too often that that is a multi -million dollar 00:47:09.619 --> 00:47:13.559 per year donation to the amateur radio community 00:47:13.559 --> 00:47:17.679 that that company is making by providing that 00:47:17.679 --> 00:47:23.300 resource. And we have looked at opportunities 00:47:23.300 --> 00:47:26.780 for geostationary ride shares, and they're available 00:47:26.780 --> 00:47:34.599 if you pay the fee over here. So that fee is 00:47:34.599 --> 00:47:41.389 not necessarily feasible. Given the amount of 00:47:41.389 --> 00:47:44.010 members and and how much it would we would have 00:47:44.010 --> 00:47:48.050 to commit to to to to do that? type of thing 00:47:48.050 --> 00:47:52.289 over here Other not saying that it's impossible, 00:47:52.369 --> 00:47:55.809 but but it there were a unique set of circumstances 00:47:55.809 --> 00:47:59.429 that led to that opportunity over in Europe so 00:47:59.429 --> 00:48:04.570 again, we continue to look for any and all opportunities 00:48:04.570 --> 00:48:09.489 to get up to higher orbits, geostationary orbits. 00:48:11.329 --> 00:48:14.750 And one thing that in addition to placing our 00:48:14.750 --> 00:48:17.829 own satellites into orbit, as I mentioned earlier, 00:48:19.170 --> 00:48:22.210 the amateur radio on the Lunar Gateway, amateur 00:48:22.210 --> 00:48:24.610 radio system on the Lunar Gateway will provide 00:48:24.610 --> 00:48:31.519 that sort of, that same long range Type of communication 00:48:31.519 --> 00:48:35.800 You know when that's completed so that's also 00:48:35.800 --> 00:48:40.579 a great a great a great potential for the future 00:48:40.579 --> 00:48:44.420 there to have Worldwide communications via satellites 00:48:44.420 --> 00:48:47.400 something that you know, we haven't had here 00:48:47.400 --> 00:48:51.179 in 16 years here in the in the United States 00:48:51.179 --> 00:48:54.920 in North America Let me throw the phone number 00:48:54.920 --> 00:48:59.119 out one last time here it's 812 six three eight 00:48:59.119 --> 00:49:02.039 four two six one eight one two net ham one if 00:49:02.039 --> 00:49:06.019 you have a question because we're already a little 00:49:06.019 --> 00:49:08.400 bit over time so we're going to be wrapping things 00:49:08.400 --> 00:49:12.059 up soon but let's give one more opportunity for 00:49:12.059 --> 00:49:14.559 a call eight one two six three eight four two 00:49:14.559 --> 00:49:18.360 six one a couple of tweets Josh W3 ARD listening 00:49:18.360 --> 00:49:21.679 to ham talk live and Paul talk about the future 00:49:21.679 --> 00:49:25.159 of amateur satellite so Josh thank you for listening 00:49:25.159 --> 00:49:28.519 as always he had a nice little We'll get together 00:49:28.519 --> 00:49:31.380 on GoToMeeting the other night with some satellite 00:49:31.380 --> 00:49:36.260 ops. I tried to get in, but the scheduling didn't 00:49:36.260 --> 00:49:39.659 work. But if he does it again, maybe we'll do 00:49:39.659 --> 00:49:45.099 it again. Joe, Ki4ASK says, great show. Thanks. 00:49:45.960 --> 00:49:49.559 to me and Paul learning a lot about the complexities 00:49:49.559 --> 00:49:51.820 of designing, launching, and maintaining the 00:49:51.820 --> 00:49:56.800 SATs we all enjoy using. So Joe's very appreciative 00:49:56.800 --> 00:50:02.019 of that, as many of us are, I would say. So 812 00:50:02.019 --> 00:50:06.920 -638 -4261, here's your last chance to ask a 00:50:06.920 --> 00:50:13.190 question. And let's kind of run down. Real quickly 00:50:13.190 --> 00:50:17.809 the the status of what's up there from AMSAT 00:50:17.809 --> 00:50:25.630 right now Well, so we have Well, there are several 00:50:25.630 --> 00:50:27.429 satellites that aren't from AMSAT obviously, 00:50:27.489 --> 00:50:32.010 but in terms of the the Satellites at AMSAT owns 00:50:32.010 --> 00:50:36.380 Oscar seven is Up and working when it's when 00:50:36.380 --> 00:50:39.340 it's when it's not when it's in sunlight just 00:50:39.340 --> 00:50:42.699 off off the Solar panels obviously the the batteries 00:50:42.699 --> 00:50:48.239 have been dead since about 19 1981 now, but That's 00:50:48.239 --> 00:50:54.539 up there and working. AO -91 and AO -92, the 00:50:54.539 --> 00:50:58.920 core FM satellites currently in operation are 00:50:58.920 --> 00:51:05.280 performing great. AO -92 on Wednesday's UTC does 00:51:05.280 --> 00:51:09.199 use a 1 .2 gigahertz uplink. That switched the 00:51:09.199 --> 00:51:12.539 1 .2 gigahertz uplink for a 24 hour period on 00:51:12.539 --> 00:51:15.219 Wednesday's UTC. So that gives an additional 00:51:15.219 --> 00:51:20.559 opportunity to to use a different band. FalconSat 00:51:20.559 --> 00:51:25.539 3 is managed by AmSat now, and that has 9 ,9600 00:51:25.539 --> 00:51:30.159 baud packet DigiPeter as well as a store and 00:51:30.159 --> 00:51:33.800 forward message board capability. If anybody's 00:51:33.800 --> 00:51:35.960 looking to try out something new, that's always 00:51:35.960 --> 00:51:40.840 a good one to look into getting on. Now, in terms 00:51:40.840 --> 00:51:44.800 of AO85, it has not been heard from since, I 00:51:44.800 --> 00:51:48.659 believe, December 21st now. It's possible that 00:51:48.659 --> 00:51:52.340 the batteries have finally failed. They've been 00:51:52.340 --> 00:51:55.119 in a seriously deteriorated condition now for 00:51:55.119 --> 00:51:59.639 about two years now, a year and a half, two years. 00:52:00.760 --> 00:52:05.920 I guess we'll have to wait and see if the batteries 00:52:05.920 --> 00:52:09.489 can charge up just enough. And the voltages can 00:52:09.489 --> 00:52:11.289 get high enough to operate next time it's in 00:52:11.289 --> 00:52:14.710 a period of constant sunlight when it's in continuous 00:52:14.710 --> 00:52:19.449 sunlight. And we'll see. But yeah, unfortunately, 00:52:19.530 --> 00:52:24.449 it does look like AO85 may not come back. But 00:52:24.449 --> 00:52:26.510 we'll see. You never know with these batteries 00:52:26.510 --> 00:52:32.929 what they end up doing. You might have a satellite 00:52:32.929 --> 00:52:38.099 come back after what? 20 years or something. 00:52:39.199 --> 00:52:42.880 Yeah, you know the Nikad batteries, they usually 00:52:42.880 --> 00:52:47.019 die short -circuit, but sometimes those short 00:52:47.019 --> 00:52:50.820 -circuits open up and allow the satellite to 00:52:50.820 --> 00:52:55.679 operate via the solar panel, so we'll see. So 00:52:55.679 --> 00:52:58.679 maybe the big question is will AO7 ever die? 00:53:01.280 --> 00:53:03.820 That's an interesting question. And I do know 00:53:03.820 --> 00:53:06.260 that one of the lead designers, one of the guys 00:53:06.260 --> 00:53:08.860 that we did have at the symposium, Jan King, 00:53:09.579 --> 00:53:12.559 he is of the opinion that it may not. Of course, 00:53:12.659 --> 00:53:15.440 eventually these solar panels will not provide 00:53:15.440 --> 00:53:18.659 enough power to operate. The radiation will cause 00:53:18.659 --> 00:53:20.559 them to deteriorate. But other than that, there 00:53:20.559 --> 00:53:24.860 may not be much to fail the way it was built. 00:53:26.860 --> 00:53:31.500 That's a great story. Really great story. of 00:53:31.500 --> 00:53:36.480 how this thing came back to life. Just amazing. 00:53:37.159 --> 00:53:41.059 Well, Paul, we're already keeping you late here. 00:53:41.380 --> 00:53:45.280 So we're going to wrap things up. And let me 00:53:45.280 --> 00:53:47.760 take one last look at Twitter here, make sure 00:53:47.760 --> 00:53:52.159 we didn't miss anybody. I think we're good here. 00:53:52.780 --> 00:53:58.119 So any final comments here before we go QRT for 00:53:58.119 --> 00:54:00.929 a while? Well, thank you for having me on the 00:54:00.929 --> 00:54:04.190 always a pleasure to join you and you know, I 00:54:04.190 --> 00:54:07.929 think just just keep keep keep keep looking at 00:54:07.929 --> 00:54:13.150 keep Viewing AMSAT on Twitter and Facebook and 00:54:13.150 --> 00:54:15.130 AMSAT news service because we do have a lot of 00:54:15.130 --> 00:54:18.349 good things Going on over the next few months 00:54:18.349 --> 00:54:21.150 and years and if you're not a member, please 00:54:21.150 --> 00:54:25.929 please consider joining that AMSAT org Very good. 00:54:25.949 --> 00:54:30.639 Well, thank you Paul so much Thank you Well, 00:54:30.639 --> 00:54:33.380 that's a wrap for this week's edition of ham 00:54:33.380 --> 00:54:35.900 talk live. Thanks to my guest Paul Stetzer in 00:54:35.900 --> 00:54:39.579 8HM and everybody out there in cyberspace for 00:54:39.579 --> 00:54:43.440 listening and typing in and Come back next Thursday 00:54:43.440 --> 00:54:46.820 night 9 p .m. Eastern time for a list of all 00:54:46.820 --> 00:54:50.019 of our upcoming guests Just go over to ham talk 00:54:50.019 --> 00:54:52.219 live comm and if you like the show, please leave 00:54:52.219 --> 00:54:54.780 us a review We're not asking for money. We're 00:54:54.780 --> 00:54:59.489 not asking for anything other than a review. 00:54:59.750 --> 00:55:02.590 So leave us a review if you like on iTunes or 00:55:02.590 --> 00:55:05.909 wherever you listen that helps other people find 00:55:05.909 --> 00:55:10.909 the show. So this is Neil Rapp WB9VPG for now 00:55:10.909 --> 00:55:16.889 saying 7 -3, 7 -5 and may the good DX be yours.