Drew. If AMSAT becomes or has become "just another customer" of launchers then you are probably correct and even more so the future for "realsats" ie ones that actually do communications is bleak.
I am sort of surprised that this is the "thought" ...if here in Houston we had to "pay rent" for our tower space (and we have a couple of them) then the group that I am a part of which has a pretty nice repeater/packet system would simply be out of luck. What we were able to do is convince the folks who usually take the large dollars to view us as a public service and we get the tower space (and the everything else space including Electricity) for 10 dollars a year. My boss routinely sends his Gulfstream fleet out to do things for which people "pay" nothing or little because he gives to good causes. While AMSAT and other groups might or not compete with paying payloads have we lost the ability to go out and convince people that AMSAT is a worthy cause? Specific question. Has AMSAT approached SpaceX for a "good cause" launch? RGO WB5MZO Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2012 07:47:28 -0400 From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [amsat-bb] Re: Launch Costs (was-re: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol. 7, Issue 312) CC: [email protected] I'll just leave this here, to prove the reality of the situation: http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1913/1 "Doud said that SpaceX recently completed an internal study on the feasibility of flying secondary payloads. That effort also developed prices for flying those secondary payloads, which he disclosed in his presentation. A P-POD would cost between $200,000 and $325,000 for missions to LEO, or $350,000 to $575,000 for missions to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO). An ESPA-class satellite weighing up to 180 kilograms would cost $4–5 million for LEO missions and $7–9 million for GTO missions, he said." 73, Drew KO4MA - Drew..No it is not a false premise. .if SpaceX is flying with "not used" mass we should at least approach them to be able to see if we could put payloads on the vehicle..or take something to ISS...there is mass and space, the launch on Oct 7 will only carry 1000 lbs. Also we might be able to find some space on the Falcon heavy launch. Robert WB5MZO _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
