Dan.

But Amsat-BB is not read only by Amsat members. Anyone who Google's "Amsat" will find Amsat-BB very quickly. Negative and unprofessional comments on Amsat-BB hurt our image as professional satellite builders and could quite possibly kill our chance of finding our next ride to orbit. In the 1990's the ESA management handed the president of Amsat-DL a pile of e-mail printouts from Amsat-BB following the repeated launch delays on Phase 3D, it almost got the satellite thrown off the Ariane 5 vehicle. With launches even harder to find in today's world, we cannot allow such bickering to tarnish our image as professionals who can be trusted not to screw up the mission.

Dan Schultz N8FGV

so what? We should never on the BB have differences with the direction that the satellite program is going? YOu have to be kidding.

The only comments I and others have raised or made have been completely professional. The folks building suitsat 2 did miss a deployment campaign, they just did. It is a fair statement to ask if the project is to complicated. It is fair to ask why for instance we are not using transponders that have flown on other satellites but are not built in Amsat NA or are not gee whiz gizmo stuff...

And fair questions deserve fair answers. I am a life member of NA (as doubtless, all the keyboard commandos have figured out) that should be enough to get fair and straight answers.

what have I gotten back? "you are a troll" or "the folks building the satellites are working 18 hours a day" or even more silly responses (You might hurt their feelings) and then there is Frank B's statement which caused a hoot I mean just a hoot at MOD. It has been on a level that my 10 year rise above on their face book page.

The folks on the board and their toady's act like they are Donald Rumsfeld...and we should have all had far enough of that manner. AS for the folks who are "building" and managing the build of the satellite crop. WOW if they stopped would we be worse off? The launch campaigns have not been exactly inspiring.

Look the board is going to go its way...we will see how Suitsat 2 works out. If it doesnt then it wont matter NA will have just about used up all its mojo with the folks on NASA Rd 1.

As for the ESA thing on the BB...I dont have a clue how that played out. My only tag up with those folks has been over a decade ago. We mucked about with them for a bit on their microgravity airplane.(flying the "Bus" was fun)..and as a part of safety certification I got to go to FG to see how "they" do it and saw several launch campaigns. I found them completely professional and business like...and while I take the story as "gospel" the folks I knew in ESA would hardly be troubled by the comments on a BB which as you say can be joined up by "anyone".

Hope you are having a good morning.

Robert WB5MZO _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Free, trusted and rich email service. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/171222984/direct/01/