Re: [amsat-bb] Sputnik-99 launch cancelled by Swatch! (fwd)

[BillWA6ITF@xxxxxxx]

No. SWATCH owes ham radio NOTHNG emphasis mine).  They were as much a victum 
in this as were all of us.  

If anyone owes ham radio a free LEO or other launch it is the Russian Space 
Launch Control that made the deal with SWATCH, knowing full well that its 
actions violated international radio law.  

AMSAT-R -- another victum -- has already pointed the finger at the two people 
who are responsible within the Russian Space Launch Control group who are 
responsible.  At least one is a ham.  In my view, they should be held 
personallr responsible -- less it happen again.

de
Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF


In a message dated 4/16/99 1:46:15 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
djmullen@facstaff.wisc.edu writes:

<< Rob Carlson wrote:
 > 
 > Sputnik-99 launch cancelled by Swatch!
 > 
 > Thanks to the protests of my fellow radio amateurs worldwide, Swatch has
 > cancelled the mission to use the frequency of 145.815 to advertise their
 > trademarks from space!
 
 And we amateurs are still screwed because what would have been RS-19 is
 still aboard Mir, batteryless.  If new batteries are ever flow up to
 Mir, it's still useless for Amateur use because of the ten advertising
 messages stored in its ROMS.  We've been cheated out of one amateur
 satellite.  
 
 I think Swatch owes us a launch to LEO.  Depending on the contracts that
 were signed, the French amateur club that built it might have a legal
 case.  Given the high cost of a launch, there might even be enough money
 involved to interest an attorney.
 
 I also wonder if anybody will ever trust an amateur satellite to the
 Russian space authorities again.
 
 N9LTD >>


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