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Q&A Space related
MICROSAT WANTED
Dear Sir:
Reading your articles on satellite-esionage and recommended by a mutual
friend, we trust you will give us some useful hints how to obtain a
micro-satellite with groundstation for scientific purposes. The
satellite must have a live expectance of 12 months (minimum) and should
return 1 Gbit data/day. As a institute with limited funds we are looking
for minimum costs.
I.Sh.Weinreb,NN
Dr.Dish:
A proven system would be the ALEXIS-type of satellite. This one was been
build by AeroAstro - e-mail:<info@aeroastro.com> - in 1993 and is still
working.
The satellite has a total mass of 110 kg. Including payload the
satellite could have a total mass up to 300 kg. The datadownlink goes
from 300 to 750 kbit/s, which matches your requirements. Attitude
accuracy is 0.1 degree and satellite comes complete with groundstation
for apprx. $ 3.5M. This one got the lowest price-tag we could find and
should fit into your program.
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SPACE FUNERAL
Maybe a little bit out of line is my question: a year ago a
space-funeral could be seen on tv. Some kind of rocket transported the
ashes of the deseased in space. Do you know how this kind of funeral
works and the charge?
Antonio Nellli, Arequipa
Dr.Dish:
Usually the ashes of around 25 bodies are packed together in a capsule
and launched by a PEGASUS rocket into space. The PEGASUS is carried by a
L1011 to a high altitude, then releases and rocket goes up into the
choosen orbit for release of the ashes and some commercial
LEO-satellites (mostly ORBCOMMs). The tiny capsule is travelling for
some weeks around the earth and then burns during declining. During this
time the capsule can be seen from earth in the early evening and
morning. a complete sapace-funeral costs about $ 15.000,-. The next
launch should be on February 11, 1998.
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SWISS CHEESE
Again a masterpiece of investgative journalism: Swiss Cheese in Space
(TELE-satellite International, 1-2/98). Living outside the reach of
FltSatCom-8, I would like to receive another satellite of this series,
stationed more to the east. Are there any?
A.Feyadh
Dr.Dish:
You could try FltSatCom on 72.5 degree east and Marisat-2, 72.3 degree
east (on the P-band). But the unwanted signals will be not the same as
on the 23.5 W position. Sorry, no lovely voice of Maria Fernanda via
Super-Radio in Bogota/Columbia, but maybe some other interesting
unwanted transmissions on this satellite. A report is very welcome.
--
Christian Mass (Dr.Dish)
Senior-Editor of TELE-satellite International
http://www.TELE-satellite.com
Producer of drdish@tv
http://www.drdish.com
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