AMSAT Details New Satellite Proposal, Kicks Off Fund Drive

From the ARRL...


NEWINGTON, CT, Jul 27, 2001--AMSAT has begun to flesh out details of its next Amateur Radio satellite. Preliminary plans call for the new bird to have capabilities similar to those now offered by AO-40, plus a digital transponder that will be different from anything now available in Amateur Radio satellites. A campaign was begun to fund the new satellite project--dubbed "Project JJ" and now planned to launch in 2004.



"Project JJ will be your satellite!" said AMSAT-NA President Robin Haighton, VE3FRH, who promised an open design process and invited input from potential users.



In a President's Letter released this week, Haighton said current plans call for the satellite to offer SSB uplinks on 435 MHz (U band) and 1.2 GHz (L band) and a downlink on 2.4 GHz (S band). It also will have a digital time-domain multiple-access (TDMA) L-band uplink with an S-band downlink; a 145 MHz (V band) telemetry beacon; gain antennas for U, L, and S bands; and omnidirectional antennas for initial commands.



The new satellite will be placed into an orbit akin to that of AO-40, providing hours of daily access. According to Haighton's letter, 20 of AMSAT-NA's designers and officers were on hand at a planning meeting July 14-15 in Denver to hammer out some project parameters.



Haighton told ARRL that the Project JJ planners still were looking at the possibility of including a U band transponder for Mode U/V work. "It hasn't been ruled out and hasn't been ruled in," he said. Haighton said antenna size for those bands was a major consideration, and the antennas would have to be omnidirectional in any case. He speculated that Mode U/V in the high-orbit satellite might be available within two hours on either side of perigee.



"We're trying to balance the power budget very carefully between the digital and SSB analog systems," he said.



Haighton's especially enthusiastic about the proposed TDMA digital transponder, which would handle digital voice-mode communication. "I liken it to the introduction of SSB back in the days of AM," he said. "I think it probably is the introduction of a whole new mode of operation for satellites, and it's going to be a lot of fun."



As it's currently conceived, Haighton said, an operator would go to a computer screen and see a list of stations and QSOs in progress--as a block with a call sign in it. "You'd click onto or into a slot, and put out a call or listen," he said. This would be seen by other participating operators. "Then pick up your mike and talk," he said, adding, "we're still developing the details."



The new satellite will incorporate a propulsion system "only if absolutely necessary," Haighton's letter said. "This is a function of yet-undetermined launch dynamics and may require some form of cold gas propulsion system for perigee adjustment," Haighton said, adding that a decision would be made in the near future.



A malfunction involving AO-40's 400-newton onboard propulsion system was blamed for a nearly catastrophic incident last December that damaged or destroyed some of the satellite's capabilities. Ground controllers ultimately were able to shift AO-40's orbit into a usable and durable configuration using another propulsion system to expel cold ammonia gas.



Haighton promised an open design process for Project JJ and to "make every aspect of this new satellite (as it is being designed) completely available to the AMSAT community."



Haighton said Paul Williamson, KB5MU, will post all project information on the AMSAT-NA Web site, and Russ Tillman, K5NRK, will write an initial article for the AMSAT-NA Journal--with more articles planned. He announced that Lyle Johnson, KK7P, and Chuck Green, N0ADI, will jointly serve as managers at the start of the project.



Haighton's President's Letter did not ignore the bottom line. "It is quite apparent that the days of inexpensive launches are over, especially if we want a good, reliable launch, which I'm sure, we all do," he said. Haigton announced the immediate lauch of a fund-raising effort. "I encourage you to become a President's Club donor at either the $100/month (Gold) or $50/month (Silver) level." AMSAT donations are tax deductible in the US to the extent permitted by law.



Haighton said the new project will be a topic of discussion during the 16th AMSAT-UK Colloquium, which he'll be attending. The event takes place July 27-29 at Surrey University, Guildford, Surrey, UK.



More information and a copy of Haighton's President's Letter is available on the AMSAT-NA Web site.