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 Previous: It's About Time... and Ham Radio |  Next: The K7RA Solar Update |
 AMSAT-NA will auction this sculpture by the late Floyd Thorn, N5SVP, to help fund the AO-ECHO launch campaign. |
NEWINGTON, CT, Jan 15, 2004--The bidding begins January 21 on a handsome original sculpture of the AO-40 satellite as AMSAT-NA auctions off the work of art on eBay to help fund the AMSAT-OSCAR ECHO (AO-ECHO) satellite launch campaign. The auction will run for 10 days, and the winning bid will be recognized as a donation to the launch campaign.
"This bronze is one of only four pieces,
created by long time AMSAT member Floyd Thorn, N5SVP, now a Silent Key," said
AMSAT Marketing Manager Jim Jarvis, N2EA. "It has been donated to AMSAT by his
family to support the AO-ECHO launch campaign."
 The bottom module of AO-ECHO on the test stand during integration. Jim White, WD0E, and Mike Kingery, KE4AZN, are heading up the integration process. [Mike Kingery, KE4AZN, Photo] |
 AMSAT-NA President Robin Haighton, VE3FRH, with a model of the ECHO satellite at Hamvention 2002. |
Jarvis said the sculpture measures 11x4 inches and weighs just over a pound. The wooden base bears a brass plaque with the sculptor's name and call sign. Visit the AMSAT-NA Web site for details and to link to the auction.
A physicist, Floyd Thorn had a variety of interests that included astronomy, space communications, Amateur Radio and jewelry making. A long-time member of AMSAT-NA, Thorn flew F4Fs and PBYs during World War II and later developed a business that provided cathodic protection systems to the petroleum industry.
The new microsat-class satellite is now undergoing integration and testing at SpaceQuest in Fairfax, Virginia. Among its other capabilities, AO-ECHO will enable satellite voice communication using handheld FM transceivers.
The satellite will incorporate two UHF transmitters, each running from 1 to 8 W and capable of simultaneous operation, four VHF receivers and a multiband, multimode receiver capable of operation on the 10 meter, 2 meter, 70 cm and 23 cm bands. ECHO will feature V/U, L/S and HF/U operational configurations, with V/S, L/U and HF/S also possible. FM voice and various digital modes--including PSK31 on a 10-meter SSB uplink--also will be available.
The AO-ECHO fund currently stands at nearly $49,000. AMSAT-NA says it will need $110,000 for the launch--currently scheduled for March 31, although the launch window remains open until May. A Russian Dnepr LV rocket--a converted SS-18 intercontinental ballistic missile--will carry the approximately 10-inch-square satellite into a low-Earth orbit from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Visit the AMSAT
AO-ECHO Web page for additional details.
| Previous: It's About Time... and Ham Radio | Next: The K7RA Solar Update |
