All:

Info. A little history on our off-and-on discussion about what kind of parts to fly.

I have responded regarding his volunteering. 73, Jim wb4gcs@amsat.org

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Eagle Update - Discussion of Plastic versus Military parts Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 19:17:39 -0400 From: Daniel Kekez va3kkz@amsat.org To: wb4gcs@amsat.org

Hi Jim,

I read your recent Eagle Update in the AMSAT journal, and I found it interesting that you were having the Plastic versus Military parts discussion. I work at the Space Flight Lab at the University of Toronto, and we were trained by AMSAT almost a decade ago on the Microspace way. And part of that has been the careful selection of plastic parts in conjunction with intelligent designs. This combination has proved to be quite successful on the MOST microsatellite.

On the other hand, I've also wondered about the suitability of COTS components for a HEO mission like Eagle which will pass through the radiation belts twice per orbit. So I'm quite curious to hear the details. I am wondering if the discussion you describe took place on a mailing list or some other forum to which I could subscribe.

Now, since there is no such thing as a free lunch :), I have to ask what work I should contribute to get "in the loop". I don't have a lot of free time, given the demands of my job, but I could be of use in the immediate with digital electronics or software type of work. Anyway, please let me know.

73, -Daniel, VA3KKZ