8 Jul
2007
8 Jul
'07
6:46 a.m.
A great posting from Patrick. Good practical commonsense.
A non battery option has been discussed many time on the UK Amsat Midlands net as far back as 2001. Robert G8ATE in particular suggested that all satellites should have a "failure mode" in which the batteries were out of circuit and the transponder ran on solar power. AO-7 is the prime example. What about night time operations? If the orbit is higher the Sun time for any station is extended.
Is a compromise possible, here. A solar only transponder satellite might be a bit radical, could it be a switchable option? Taking up Patrick's point it could be a high power mode.
73 John G7HIA