AMSAT France press release 99-04
April 13th, 1999
A radioamateur satellite kidnapped by a big commercial company
The radioamateur satellite that will be launched during an EVA from MIR space station on Friday 16th 1999 by the french astronaut Jean-Pierre HAIGNERE, could violate the international regulations.
In december 1998, Mr. Oleg Volkov, deputy of Vladimir Soloviev has contacted AMSAT France for a satellite project. Mr. Volkov belongs to the Spaceflight Control Center in Moscow and asked first that RS-19 satellite should be built before february 22th, 1999 and that it should be the same as the radioamateur satellite RS-18 that we had designed one year before for AMSAT Russia.
In another contact we were astonished to see Mr. Volkov saying that the satellite should use the internet beat time but he denied that the satellite was commercial and insisted in saying that it was an amateur satellite project. This seemed strange to us as M. Volkov wanted also to name his project "Beatnik". Thus AMSAT France explained carefully to Mr. Volkov that international regulations for radioamateur by satellite did not allow commercial activities on the frequencies attributed to radioamateurs. This was clearly specified in the contract signed between SCSC and AMSAT France.
However SCSC did not respect the contrat and sold secretely his project to the Swatch swiss company. Moreover, the pre recorded messages that the satellite will broadcast refers to the internet "beat" time and to the name "Beatnik" of the satellite. Both labels are trademarks belonging to swiss watch manufacturer company Swatch. After discovering this, AMSAT France estimated that the satellite would violate the International Telecommunication Union ITU radio regulation and explained this to both Swatch company and SCSC. AMSAT France explained also to Swatch that in doing so it would face problems with the International Amateur Radio Union IARU (representing more than two million people in the world) and delivered this information to the internationa radioamateur associations. The AMSAT France president asked other AMSATs to avoid mentionning the future satellite into their publications and not to publish its orbital parameters. Since then, a great number of protests from radioamateurs have been sent to the Swatch company interne site, and telling that they would boycott its products.
Despite all our efforts and messages from other amateur associations, it seems that Swatch company did not cancel its projects of advertising on a radioamateur band via satellite. During our last conversation with a Swatch company representative, Swatch suggested they could ask the spationaut to launch the satellite without turning it on. Alternately AMSAT France proposed to Swatch to stop offending the ITU international regulations by shutting off only the broadcast of pre recorded voice messages. This would let working the amateur technological beacon. Our option was technically simple to achieve by deconnecting the satellite voice circuit. This would make the satellite compliant with the international regulations and it would recover its ham mission. At the present time, AMSAT France did not receive any indication from Swatch of what will be their decision.
Dr Bernard Pidoux, MD, PhD.
AMSAT France president.
BACKGROUND
AMSAT France is a non profit organization with more than 500 radioamateurs interested in satellite telecommunications. AMSATs organization in different countries are designing, building and controling amateur satellites in orbit.
Since 1961, amateurs have built and launched successfully about fifty satellites in order to relay voice contacts or digital transmission. Digital amateurs satellites have demonstrated that it was possible to build a space internet-like network, annoucing big commercial telecommunication systems like Skybridge or Teledesic that will provide soon internet by satellite.
Radioamateurs can communicate with astronauts aboard the Space shuttle or spationauts owning hamradio licences like Jean-Pierre Haigneré who is aboard the russian orbital space station MIR.
AMSAT-France had a major role in the previous microsatellites SPOUTNIK RS-17 and RS-18 projects in 1997 and 1998, providing technical supports and manufacturing flight models of electronics and radio modules.
AMSAT-France, with the cooperation of various schools and universities is working on its own amateur micro satellite "MAELLE".
Contacts:
AMSAT-France 14 bis rue des Gourlis 92500 RUEIL-MALMAISON.
tel./fax 01.47.51.74.24
Mel : AMSAT-F@amsat.org
Internet site: http://www.ccr.jussieu.fr/physio/amsat-france/