Dan Schultz N8FGV
Sorry neither the quote from JFK (no matter how stirring it is) nor the notion of AMSAT paring up with the folks at universities who make the bleep sats makes much sense to the debate on Amateur radio satellites.
We did go to the Moon because it was hard, we went we did it and then we stopped very fast...why? Other then it was hard there was no reason to keep on doing it. There is no reason or reasons today other then really made up ones (the Chinese are going, national greatness, etc). Watch how silent the American people were when Constellation was cancelled...no one cared. (unless you worked in the space business)
As for Universities paring with the new digital transponder. Good luck. Ignoring the actual results of Suitsat 2...the reality is that most cubesats dont have the power to do the transponder AND anything else...and second building the entire package "from data sheets" is a lot about what the project is done for.
Debates like this (and its spin offs) occur whenever morale is low. Robert G. Oler WB5MZO life member AMSAT ARRL NARS