Re: [amsat-bb] Longevity-sat proposal

[RogerKola@xxxxxxx]

In a message dated 10/30/03 10:42:07 PM Eastern Standard Time, n8fgv@usa.net 
writes:

> A more important question: Can we make grandchildren who will want to use a
>  satellite? Every attempt I have made to get the younger generation 
> interested
>  in radio or satellites has fallen on deaf ears: "but Uncle Dan, we don't 
> need
>  that stuff, the internet is so much more cool...."

IMHO....if we continue to launch satellites that don't offer much more 
challenge than that of a poor cell phone, and we remain 20 years behind in satellite 
and digital technology, offering no more of an interesting mission then to be 
able to operate at 2.4 GHz, why would kids be interested?

Satellite technology is proven, countries and corporations turn off existing 
space hardware that is still much more capable than what we take so much time 
to put up.

Let's find a Mission for each sat....Bob Bruninga's was APRS, with it, I can 
show my kids where people are, with the help of the internet. The SSTV on the 
ISS will be a great mission, show them something!

The children of today have been brought up in front of the visual stimulation 
of TV, VCR's, Wide Screen Format Movies, 3D that works, Video Games and the 
Internet.
They have heard the "one small step for man..." quote from the Moon...they 
take that we can get there for granted....

Let's build SATs that do something, take pictures of the Earth on demand, 
broadcast pictures of the Galaxy, measure radiation, gasses, population, 
vegetation...the mind's the limit...

Sure we can get pictures of the wildfires in California off the Web or on 
TV....but what if we could receive them ourselves directly, what if we could 
watch a storm closely, live? "see" the Poles?, watch Aurora from above?

The world is getting smaller, in 20 years things that we take for granted 
today will be obsolete...let's reach out with our missions and make them 
important...then the kids will listen......

Roger
WA1KAT
----
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