Message-ID: <386@ames-lm.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 5-Jul-84 21:48:27 EDT
Article-I.D.: ames-lm.386
Posted: Thu Jul  5 21:48:27 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 7-Jul-84 01:38:01 EDT
Organization: NASA-Ames Research Center, Mtn. View, CA
Lines: 15

Any thoughts on the feasibility of a USENET satellite?  The satellite would
in some fairly low orbit and act as a USENENT node with a low
power omni antenna.  It would pick up USENET files from sites near the orbital
path, analyse the destinations and drop the mail off when it passed over the
appropriate site.  There might be long delays for a high inclination
satellite, but an equitorial satellite in low orbit (4-500 miles?) could
deliver mail rapidly to equitorial nations.  There's also the possiblity of
multiple satellites in various orbit that send to each other as they pass 
nearby.  Perhaps AMSAT could get into something like this, I'd think that
power requirements should be quite low leading to a relatively cheap
satellite.

			From the half baked ideas of

					Al Globus

Message-ID: <211@idi.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 7-Jul-84 02:08:21 EDT
Article-I.D.: idi.211
Posted: Sat Jul  7 02:08:21 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 8-Jul-84 00:18:02 EDT
References: <386@ames-lm.UUCP>
Organization: Intelligent Decisions, Saratoga, CA
Lines: 10


	It's much simpler to use VIR space off of an existing
television channel.  Lauren gave a talk on this at the last
Usenix conference.

-- 
Rick Kiessig
{decvax, ucbvax}!sun!idi!kiessig
{akgua, allegra, amd70, burl, cbosgd, dual, ihnp4}!idi!kiessig
Phone: 408-996-2399

Message-ID: <3141@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Mon, 9-Jul-84 14:26:08 EDT
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.3141
Posted: Mon Jul  9 14:26:08 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 12-Jul-84 05:09:15 EDT
References: <386@ames-lm.UUCP>
Organization: Ballistics Research Lab
Lines: 5

Actually, a more practical and on the way to being implemented solution
is that of Lauren Weinstein.  He plans to buy some vertical retrace time
on one of the super tv stations to continuously broadcast netnews.

-Ron

Message-ID: <96@mouton.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 17-Jul-84 15:45:44 EDT
Article-I.D.: mouton.96
Posted: Tue Jul 17 15:45:44 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 18-Jul-84 02:56:54 EDT
References: <386@ames-lm.UUCP>
Organization: Bell Communications Research, Inc
Lines: 30

The project which you suggest is in fact being done by AMSAT: it's called
PACSAT. Actually, there are now three distinct projects for packet
radio hardware (i.e., hardware containing HDLC decoding/encoding,
memory, etc, as opposed to straight "bent pipe" transponders).
PACSAT is one involving a dedicated payload to be deployed from the Shuttle
on a Vandenburg launch. The working figures are 9600 bps PSK up and down,
with 4 megabytes of CMOS bulk RAM.  The Japanese are also working on
JAS-1, which will contain a smaller pacsat-like unit, although the memory
capacity and transmission speeds will be smaller. The orbit planned for
JAS-1 is approx 1500 km, high inclination but not sun-synchronous.
JAS-1 will also carry a more conventional real-time transponder similar to
that of Oscar-8 (which also carried a transponder of Japanese construction.)

There is now a new project underway to include some form of packet radio
store-and-forward unit as part of Phase 3-C, to be launched on an Ariane
in a few years.  A new group of amateur packet enthusiasts in the Munich
area (which I just visited) is starting this work.

All in all, there is a lot of interest in this type of work. However, for
USENET there are some fatal problems. First, amateur radio cannot be
used for business purposes. Since this is how we justify USENET to our
employers (regardless of what the traffic actually looks like) it would
be somewhat hypocritical to use amateur radio.  Second, many countries
do not have rules quite as liberal as the USA and "third party" traffic
(communications involving a non-amateur party) are not permitted.
Third, some administrations do not as yet recognize digital transmissions
in their amateur rules.

Phil Karn, KA9Q
Asst VP Engineering, AMSAT