The Economic Times report Dhruva Space, a two-year-old start-up co-
founded by space technologist and ham radio operator Sanjay Nekkanti
VU3ISS/AB3OE, sealed a deal with AMSAT India on November 30, 2014 to
develop HAMSAT II. VUsat-OSCAR-52_HAMSAT
It will be the successor to HAMSAT VO-52 which went silent on July
11, 2014 due to the failure of the on-board lithium ion batteries.
HAMSAT provided a valuable communications resource for the amateur
radio community for over 9 years.
Dhruva’s satellites are expected to be launched on ISRO’s workhorse
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). Nekkanti said his team is
working closely with the space organization for design approvals and
testing of the satellite.
The AMSAT India Secretary Nitin Muttin, VU3TYG has released this
statement:
We are pleased to announce that AMSAT India and Dhruva Space Pvt.
Ltd. have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on November 30th 2014
to pursue the development of a follow up mission to HAMSAT launched
in 2005 on-board the PSLV-C6. HAMSAT II is envisioned to fill the gap
created by the recent end of life of HAMSAT and shall continue
servicing the societal needs in disaster management,
amateur/emergency radio communications and education.
Some of the contemplated payloads for HAMSAT II include:
* U/V Analog FM Transponder
* U/V Linear Transponder, 50 kHz
* APRS Digipeater
* Digitalker
Read The Economic Times article at
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/45354501.cms
AMSAT India
http://amsatindia.org/