Hi,

Expect a ton of information to be presented at Symposium. I can assure you the Fox team is working very hard on the project design and hardware now, papers and presentations for Symposium, and also preparing proposals for low-cost launch opportunities that are due with a few weeks.

73, Drew KO4MA

-----Original Message-----

From: Thomas Schaefer thomasmschaefer@gmail.com Sent: Oct 24, 2011 11:56 AM To: "Bato,Andras" bato@starjan.hu Cc: amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: There's no usable satellites

I suspended my project to install a satellite beam and rotor because of the state of affairs. I guess I can donate more money but it is hard when the web pages for the current projects do not seem to be updated as much (yes, I know…volunteers). Maybe someone can tell me…

Are there updated, realistic timeframes posted on a website? Is there a fund raising indicate to tell how close of far AMSAT is from their goal to launch the next satellite.?

It appears people want to help.

Case in point…the Project Fox website which was updated last on August 2011 states under the following under Project Status Updates: Watch this space as we progress. That's it. Not even the status updates that were given at Dayton.

Is there no progress? If the project is simply waiting until enough seed money is collected, then would it be possible to show that target? Maybe indicate what has been collected this month, last month, and this year? How far do we have to go? What is the next milestone and what is it waiting upon to start/finish.

I did see a number $800 on the logo where one can donate. Is that how much has been collected?

Non-professional fund raising has ben going on for a long time. Having basic feedback mechanisms encourages people to give. If they see how their contribution will add to a milestone being started/finished, it helps. I know it takes time and resources to do this, but ultimately, the fund raising is a big part I presume.

Now if I am wrong and the project is waiting for a grant or a free rocket ride to either bother, then let's see that status.

Note I read the Project Fox presentation given at Dayton and it did not mention funding targets except to state the obvious that launch costs have gone up. We need real numbers and to see how far it will take to get there. I think more people can rally around the project with some goals in mind.

Regards,