In a message dated 17/03/2009 17:29:47 GMT Standard Time, kg4zlb@googlemail.com writes:

I was reading about the newly launched GOCE satellite and the fact that its mission will end when its 40kg tank empties - that of course may be a long time coming but as it has an S band transmitter, could this not be tweaked for us once the mission is complete?

Hi. ESA will use the usual 2G / 2.2G ish space communications band for GOCE. The modulation format and data rate will be very different from anything that we are familiar with. The uplink will send commands to the spacecraft and the downlink will send back science data but It's highly unlikely that signals can pass through or that the TX and RX can be moved to 2.4 GHz.

And thinking further, for these satellites could amateur radio gear be carried so that it could be activated once the main mission is complete? Doing this over a number of years would provide a ready made supply of new birds over a period of time.

This however is a very practical idea. Right now AMSAT members are building / designing a communications system that will be launched on the ESA educational satellite ESEO. When the science mission is over it will switch to amateur use and hopefully provide a good service for many years (touching wood for good luck as I write this)

ESEO is planned to be 75kg going to LEO.

73

David