As far as I know there are no transponders on any of the qubesats being lauched. These are femtosats measuring 50cm (2 in) on a side and weighing less than 200 grams. The link budget is quite challenging with the available power budget. A transponder on this platform would need to be more power efficient in both the uplink and downlink paths than any other ham satellite to date. This would need to be accomplished in a form factor smaller than any ham satellite to date. These first launches are an effort to baseline the feasibility of the platform and lower the entry point for educational access to space. There are many ways to possibly make a platform this size into a usable communications medium, but FM voice is definitely not one of them, and SSB would be very weak signal at best.
- Howie, AB2S _______________________________________________ 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
