Satgen 643 Future Amsats by GM4IHJ ( BID SGEN643 ) 2001-07-21 This has not been a good year for satellites and their launchers. Ariane 5 has just put 2 very expensive satellites into a far from desirable orbit. Saving them will be difficult. Telstar 6 recently suffered a CPU failure, Happily, now corrected. Pre 1997 Galaxy BSS601 space craft buses are apparently prone to relay switch failure. Three of the 21 satellites are now out of service. While the Garuda 1 satellite has a transponder problem. Not to mention the failure of so many Iridium satellites , that a launch of 88 has at May 2001 ended up with just the bare minimum of 67 or 66 actually operational ie the minimum number required for full coverage. Though even this may no longer be the case with Iridium 48 decaying from orbit a few weeks ago. All of which means large insurance payouts. Which does not help project a picture of satellite reliability. So perhaps it is no surprise that other high altitude systems , including airships and high altitude sun powered aircraft, are being proposed. It is against this back ground that the comments of W2YE reported in Amsat Journal May/June 2001 page 2, strike a very sensible note. Particularly in respect of his call that we keep it simple, when we consider new Amsats. Unfortunately VE3FRH' reply on the same page seems to contradict itself. On the one hand we get the statement that Amsat will develope new ideas pushing the state of the envelope, and leaving other modes to the (lesser experienced mortals)/ University satellite builders. While further down in the VE3FRH reply we get the counter statement:- (1) by keeping them simply. By all means if we have loads of cash let the experimenters loose . But only after they produce some bread and butter satellites that Amsat members who fund their efforts, can use. As far as this writer is concerned the only successful large user base amateur satellites have been Oscars 6, 7,10,13, the Japanese mode J sats and the splendid Russian RS series. At present this writer is trying to work out how he can use an AO40 which has a very poor useful operating pattern , locked for months in an orbit which favours only the midnight cowboys. Yes this situation is the result of an accident . But those who put all their eggs into one basket , invite problems. Even professionals get them, as reported here in paragraph 1. While with the greatest of respect to the Universities , who VE3FRH suggest will save our bacon, by producing loads of simple sats. I note that most of them simply do not work , or if they do , they are restricted to a single channel, in an alligator infested mad house of FM and Spanish taxi drivers. Anyone proposed for future Amsat Board elections who tells me he intends to use Amsat cash for " pushing the state of the art ", will not get this vote . Lets gets something simple up and working to replace the aging RS12 and Japanese mode J sats , before we start indulging in, may work but may not, and, anyway will have few if any users , pushing the state of the art, pipe dreams.