so it is not a free ride to space? where does the $6,000,000 dollars come from then?
At 02:20 PM 12/13/2007, you wrote:
sco@sco-inc.com wrote:
I doubt that would ever happen. If I was the CEO of the launch sat i would never let an "amateur" rocket motor hitch a ride on my multi million dollar bird. Just like NASA won't let us do it.
If you can think of a way for us to get from GTO without a motor and fuel then it might happen.
Les W4SCO www.scoincsoftware.com
That is exactly what I thought until Intelsat told us not only would they like to entertain this notion but that they would FUEL THE SATELLITE AT THEIR EXPENSE since they have enough left over, using the same fuels we do, that they could fill us with the spillage.
This option to ride to space is still ridiculously expensive. The reason it is ridiculously expensive is not because ultimately it will cost more than the Phase 4 lite possibility. It will not cost more. I do not know how many times I have to say it, but I will make it my personal cross to bear to repeat it ad infinitum. NO ONE WILL FUND YOUR POP OFF SATELLITE TOY. You and I and everyone else knows that these things are entirely too complex and worthy of awe to be a toy. But that is how any funding source will look at it. To get the satellite into orbit will cost more than AO-10, AO13, AO16-WO18 and AO-40 COMBINED. We cannot raise money from people like you. You either a) don't have it, b) are no interested, or c) don't trust us with it. Irrespective of the causes, am telling you the facts as I see them as any reponsible and responsive manager would. If you don't like the message, elect a new director (I am up for re-election) and have the BOD fire me as an executive. I am saying fund sources are not interested in funding your communications private repeater.
The thing the P4 Lite mission has going for it is that it DELIVERS A SERVICE IN A MEANINGFUL WAY (irrespective of the shouted nonsense to the contrary we have seen here). We have spectrum that no one can tell us what to do with so long as we are obeying the law. We do all of our NRE for "nothing". We are willing to be open source, open specification, and the most important thing of all to (say) DHS, we are talking about doing it with reconfigurable software radio equipment and to work hard on the hard parts of providing interoperability. What we don't get right to begin with, with their support, we will get right and do it at a huge reduction in cost over ALL OTHER PROPOSALS.
Think people. It is not that painful a thing to do. I have been getting headaches from straining to think for decades. Most of you can do it if you would only try and close your mouths and typewriters long enough to do it.
73's Bob
-- AMSAT Director and VP Engineering. Member: ARRL, AMSAT-DL, TAPR, Packrats, NJQRP, QRP ARCI, QCWA, FRC. ARRL SDR WG Chair "An optimist may see a light where there is none, but why must the pessimist always run to blow it out?" Descartes