I am VERY impressed with the description of FalconSat3 in the AMSAT News Service special bulletin ANS-056.07. With a frame that is roughly 24 inches on a side, it should get enough solar energy for powerful downlinks. Perhaps the downlink will be similar to UO-14.
Has anybody heard an estimate of the time duration of the science mission? That is, how long might we have to wait for the amateur payload to be open to the public?
Also encouraging is the final statement that FalconSats 4 and 5 will also have amateur payloads. This could return us to the "LEO glory days" when RS-10, RS-12, and UO-14 were all operational with strong downlinks. I wonder if they would consider a Mode A or Mode B linear transponder in one of the future FalconSats... The global shift to code-free HF licenses could result in renewed interest in Mode A.
I've always felt that it makes the most sense for AMSAT-NA and AMSAT-DL to focus exclusively on HEO satellites and let universities and smaller AMSAT groups focus on LEO satellites. This is happening in a big way now, thanks to King Abdulaziz University (SaudiSats), US Naval Academy (PCsats), US Air Force Academy (FalconSats), AMSAT-VU (VO-52), and AMSAT-ZL (KiwiSat).
Wayne Estes W9AE Oakland, Oregon, USA, CN83ik