Re: [amsat-bb] Idea for more satellites in short time

["Robert Oler" <cvn65vf94@xxxxxxx>]

Hello

A very fine post.  I'll just note this.

I ahvent followed the post accident (incident) aka the rocket motor problem 
all that closely.  Having said that I havent seen (but it may exist) a 
timeline as to how the mistake on the ground cause the big boom in the 
silence of space, nor any discussion on how the restojet (or whatever it was 
called) failed.  I assume some internal effort has occurred...but since 
AMSAT's/Germany's propulsion failures far exceed their success well if I was 
any launch authority the bar to get on my rocket with an "engine" would be 
pretty high.

AO 40 was probably several bridges to far.  In so many ways.

Its clear the folks who build the birds do comm quite well but rocket 
science is well still an issue at work.  I dont know that AMSAT has asked 
some outside experts who do things like investigate airplane accidents, oil 
rig (as in drilling rig) accidents, nuclear power plant accidents, ship 
accidnts to come in and take a tiger team approach to finding out what went 
wrong with the propulsion plant "thing".  From everything I have read that 
seems a place that AMSAT doesnt want to go (aka explaining what went wrong). 
  I've heard stories but there is really no offical "report" that I have 
been made aware of.

I'd be curious to know what the breakdown in launch cost vrs building cost 
for AO-40 were.  Obviously there was some background with Ariane/Arianespace 
in building Phase 3 vehicles.  This was a whole new deal. We built not only 
the bird but the load bearing structure....

As for transponders...well 10 meters to 24 ghz is pretty ambitious.  Most 
hams are not on 24 ghz and wont be for sometime.  Imagine who the world 
would be different if we had say two or three AO-10 clones in orbit now with 
modern stuff for control?

As for P3E and the Mars thing...Good luck.  The Mars thing is a joke.  The 
Brits wasted their time and money with Beagle and if "hams" send one to Mars 
the odds are quite high its space debris.  Heck they couldnt even make the 
propulsion on AO-40 work so shoot for Mars orbit?  Thats realistic.

Robert G. Oler WB5MZO (AMSAT and ARRL life member just to throw that in)

Houston

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