Hi Tom,
These cubesat projects are very very new...many have been developed only in the last 2 or 3 months and therefore it is not surprising that only one third of them have yet sent in any documentation regarding frequency co-ordination to the IARU panel.
In fact, in addition to Swisscube and Goliat, the Robusta project is shown on the co-ordination website as "in progress".
We do not know which of the others will be using frequencies in the amateur satellite service but rest assured that all the teams have already been briefed on their responsibilities in relation to their possible use of "our" service and have been offered all possible support and advice (including Jan's fb link budget spreadsheet).
May I also make a plea that the concept of "them" and "us" is seriously outdated in respect of the members of the cubesat teams. There are many examples of students who already have obtained their amateur licences and many who are currently taking the courses in their respective countries. I firmly believe that anything that enables/encourages "young" people to get their tickets is a good "thing" and that if a proportion of them end up as amateurs working in the space industry over the next decades then probably it is a very very good "thing"
Whether or not the satellites carry a transponder is another subject, but if the cubesat programme gives today's amateurs the opportunity to help create an amateur friendly space industry for the next generation then it has my support!
best 73
Graham G3VZV
----- Original Message ----- From: "Tom Clark, K3IO" k3io@verizon.net To: "AMSAT BB" amsat-bb@amsat.org Sent: Saturday, June 07, 2008 11:29 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: 9 Cubesats selected for free ESA ride to space
Of the satellites listed (according to the list posted at http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru/finished.asp), the following satellites have been coordinated with IARU for use of the amateur satellite spectrum:
* Swisscube: Space Center, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Laus * Goliat: University of Bucharest * UWE-2 (but not yet UWE-3): University of Wuerzburg
Unisat3 from Rome was launched with AO-51, however the UniCubesat is not listed with the IARU.
It appears that the IARU Coordination group knows nothing about the other satellites listed in the press release. But then, it also appears that the recent Russian RS-30 "Jubilee" was apparently unknown/uncoordinated.
If any of you are in contact with any of these groups, please stress to them the need for coordination with the rest of the amateur radio/amateur satellite community. Information of the coordination process, along with some recommendations (including a very useful link budget spreadsheet from Jan King W3GEY/VK4GEY) can be found at http://www.iaru.org/satellite/.
73, Tom _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb