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FOX 1 THE NEW ERA OF AMATEUR RADIO SATELLITES  IF EVERYTHING GOES AS
PLANNED, THERE WILL SOON BE A NEW SATELLITE YOU CAN WORK WITH NOTHING MORE
THAN A HANDHELD FM TRANSCEIVER AND A PORTABLE YAGI ANTENNA.  DAVID JORDAN,
AA4KN, FOR THE FOX TEAM LATELY, THE WORLD OF HAM SATELLITES HAS BEEN TURNED
ON ITS HEAD.  THE PRICE OF SATELLITE LAUNCHES HAS RISEN ASTRONOMICALLY, SO
WHEN IT COMES TO BUILDING SATELLITES ON A SHOESTRING BUDGET, BIG IS OUT AND
SMALL IS IN AND THESE DAYS, SMALL MEANS CUBESAT.  A CUBESAT LOOKS JUST LIKE
YOU WOULD IMAGINE A SMALL, CUBE SHAPED SATELLITE.  THE CUBESAT CONCEPT WAS
CO CONCEIVED SEVERAL YEARS AGO BY PROFESSOR JORDI PUIG SUARI OF CALIFORNIA
POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY ALONG WITH PROFESSOR BOB TWIGGS, KE6QMD.  SOON
UNIVERSITIES STARTED BUILDING CUBESATS AS TEACHING TOOLS, MAKING COLLEGES
THE NEW LAUNCH CUSTOMERS ON THE BLOCK.  INTRODUCING THE AMSAT NA FOX
CUBESAT PROGRAM IN 2008, THE RADIO AMATEUR SATELLITE CORPORATION OF NORTH
AMERICA, BETTER KNOWN AS AMSAT NA, WAS SEEKING A NEW DIRECTION AFTER
CANCELLING THE EAGLE SATELLITE PROJECT DUE IN PART TO THE RISING COST OF
LAUNCHES.  IN OCTOBER OF THE SAME YEAR, NEWLY APPOINTED AMSAT NA VICE
PRESIDENT OF ENGINEERING TONY MONTEIRO, AA2TX SK, ASSEMBLED A TEAM WITH THE
GOAL OF FINDING THE BEST OPTIONS FOR AMSAT NAS RETURN TO SPACE.  THEY SOON
AGREED THAT AMSAT NA COULD AND SHOULD CREATE A CUBESAT, MAINLY BECAUSE SUCH
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