[amsat-bb] Re: S band downlink on P3E

[sco@xxxxxxxxxxx]

>   I do not wish to duplicate that
>which was designed in 1980 for a complete different era.  The phase 3
>program is an engineering marvel.  It is essentially one man's absolute
>genius (Karl)  incarnated and captured to varying degrees by the rest of
>us as the supporting cast.  But I do not believe it is appropriate for
>2010-2020 given the launch environment,  the RF environment, and the
>legal environment.  The frame is too small to support the antennas
>required to use multiple satellites even to support 7/24 operations.
>We need a larger frame to support the phased arrays to meet the 70%
>availability and on and on and on.


Ok that makes sense. How does the size of P3E compare to AO-40?
Could we design a larger version of the P3E spaceframe that would fit 
into the mounting ring used for AO-40?
if so would that give us a bird large enough to do what you think 
needs to be done, for the future needs of the sat community?
We know that the P3E (AO10/13) shape seemed to work as I hope P3E 
will also work. Would not a large version work on the same principals?

Les W4SCO


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