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Re: ATM 8" in space, Hubble vs. interferometer




Thanks for your input. It was indeed interesting. I would 
like very much to see an amateur telescope project get 
under way under the same concept as the Oscar satellite 
missions. It is quite possible. We should keep in mind 
that a lot of people in this group are also hams. I 
myself have been working completely on my own on the STP
project, with help from ATM and some electronics groups.
I am planning to put my scope on top of a mountain. Now
that most everything works, I can envision amateurs, 
just like us, actually going the extra 100 miles or so 
and making a homemade tracking system akin to what Hubble 
uses and then sending up a prototype. Perhaps someone 
here knows about the status of the Oscar satellites and 
if it is still possible to place small satellites onboard 
existing missions? I seem to recall the Oscar people got 
the government to cover the bill for sending the satellite 
up and it ended up giving NASA a lot of moral and other 
support from hams all over the world. This was not trivial 
either. I know most of the Shuttle missions now have at 
least one person on board with a ham license and they 
routinely communicate with hams all over the world. NASA 
felt this was good for morale aboard the shuttle missions.
I am not sure what unexpected benefits NASA might get 
from permitting amateurs to send up telescopes, but I do 
know that a lot of the crew members are amateur astronomers.

We really should push this matter...


Cheers,



Dominic

North 59 37' 30"
East  17 48' 10"

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Dominic-Luc Webb, doktorand


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