Re: Launch Costs (was-re: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol. 7, Issue 312)
Clearly, we must expand beyond the amateur radio community to raise funds of this magnitude, but to do so requires both a non-amateur radio "vision" to what a HEO satellite would provide (e.g. excite non-amateurs) as well as a "Case for Support" that would attract major donors, such as foundations.
Very well put Barry.
If we look at the Kickstarter site we can see satellite projects that between them have raised almost $300,000 yet the online Fundraising by the projects took just 30 days.
ArduSat - $106,330 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/575960623/ardusat-your-arduino-experimen...
KickSat - $74,587 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zacinaction/kicksat-your-personal-spacec...
SkyCube - $116,890 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/880837561/skycube-the-first-satellite-la...
None of the individuals involved in those projects has any previous track record in building and launching satellites, yet lots of people were happy to back them with hard cash.
How is it people with no proven track record can so easily raise such sums of money ?
It's down to communications, they actively sought to engage with people and involve them in what they were doing.
I think there's something we can learn here.
Across the world millions of people are keen on space and would love to be involved in a space project, even if it's just donating $25 to it - We need to reach out to them.
73 Trevor M5AKA
What if we convince a consortium of educational institutions they need a HEO. Do educational institutions have to pay the going rate? 73 Bob W7LRD
----- Original Message ----- From: "Trevor ." m5aka@yahoo.co.uk To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Sent: Monday, September 24, 2012 2:18:29 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Launch Costs (was-re: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol. 7, Issue 312)
Clearly, we must expand beyond the amateur radio community to raise funds of this magnitude, but to do so requires both a non-amateur radio "vision" to what a HEO satellite would provide (e.g. excite non-amateurs) as well as a "Case for Support" that would attract major donors, such as foundations.
Very well put Barry.
If we look at the Kickstarter site we can see satellite projects that between them have raised almost $300,000 yet the online Fundraising by the projects took just 30 days.
ArduSat - $106,330 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/575960623/ardusat-your-arduino-experimen...
KickSat - $74,587 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zacinaction/kicksat-your-personal-spacec...
SkyCube - $116,890 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/880837561/skycube-the-first-satellite-la...
None of the individuals involved in those projects has any previous track record in building and launching satellites, yet lots of people were happy to back them with hard cash.
How is it people with no proven track record can so easily raise such sums of money ?
It's down to communications, they actively sought to engage with people and involve them in what they were doing.
I think there's something we can learn here.
Across the world millions of people are keen on space and would love to be involved in a space project, even if it's just donating $25 to it - We need to reach out to them.
73 Trevor M5AKA
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On 9/24/12, Bob- W7LRD w7lrd@comcast.net wrote:
What if we convince a consortium of educational institutions they need a HEO. Do educational institutions have to pay the going rate?
<snip>
If my alma mater is an indication, it might be a waste of time trying to convince a lot of educational institutions to put anything into orbit, let alone an amateur radio satellite.
Several years ago, I attended an alumni function hosted by the department where I studied for my last 2 degrees (a master's in electrical engineering and a Ph. D. in electrical and computer engineering). I asked the chairman at the time why there was no interest in amateur radio in the department, figuring that it has covers many of the topics taught by the professors there plus it's a fun activity in which the students could use the technical knowledge that they learned.
His answer was along the lines of "no interest" or "not popular". In other words, amateur radio doesn't bring in large research grants and corresponding bragging rights which the department could use against its competitors at other universities. Since it doesn't have the same pizzazz as, say, nanotechnology or wearable computers, why bother? Besides, isn't amateur radio obsolete technology? (Of course, it didn't surprise me that he didn't know what D-STAR was.)
However, I'd bet if a "leading" university would get involved in amateur radio satellites, a lot of engineering and physics departments would be falling all over themselves trying to get one into orbit.
Meanwhile, my alma mater wonders why it's been years since I donated any money....
73s
Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL
On 09/24/2012 05:18 PM, Trevor . wrote:
If we look at the Kickstarter site we can see satellite projects that between them have raised almost $300,000 yet the online Fundraising by the projects took just 30 days.
Pity we can't obtain funding by the same means. It isn't as if we wouldn't be able to include most of the functionality provided by these satellites as part of a secondary payload.
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