Quoting Mel Roberts w3mr@erols.com:
Is there any recent update to the status of P3E and a potential launch date and launch vehicle? The AMSAT-DL web site is out of date as is AMSAT-NA. 73 Mel W3MR
My favorite source for these sorts of inquiries is the Amsat-dl's Übersicht aller Amateurfunksatelliten, currently at: http://www.amsat-dl.org//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4...
It records the opimistic Nov. 2008 as a launch date. However, it also provides a link to this document, http://www.southgatearc.org/news/july2007/p3e_update.htm which informs us that barring a ESA launch the backup plan is Soyuz launch also at Kourou. In that case, we're waiting until 2009. It could be that 2009-10 are our years to return to HEO in force: SSETI-ESEO, Eagle and P3E may well fly in that timeframe.
This web page bears some good news, which I just noticed recently. The Chinese are seeking freq. coordination for CAS-1, a V/U sat with a linear transponder, FM repeater and 500mW power. Alas the orbit is in the 700km range, not the excellent high apogee of, say, FO-29 at 1321 km.
And, of course, the next most exciting moment for us is Dec.'s PSLV cubesat launch, which will include Delfi-C3, a university cubesat that will convert to a low-power linear transponder satellite after its research mission is over.