Amsat Phase 3D at Goddard this week

[SCHULTZ@CDDIS.GSFC.NASA.GOV]

Amsat's Phase 3D satellite is presently at NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center in Greenbelt to undergo vibration testing. The satellite team
from Florida has spent the past two days assembling the spacecraft
into its final launch configuration to prepare it for the shake test.
Prior to the shake test its fuel tanks will be filled with isopropal
alcohol to simulate the mass of rocket fuel that will be carried on
the actual launch. 

The test schedule is very uncertain, the team hopes to complete
the test and be ready to ship everything back to Florida by this
weekend, but other test activites at Goddard, most notably the
preparations for October's Hubble Space Telescope service mission,
may cause the schedule to slip into next week. 

If any local Amsat folks or other interested persons would like
a chance to inspect Phase 3D in person while it is here, please
contact myself (n8fgv@amsat.org) or Pat Kilroy (pat.kilroy@gsfc.nasa.gov),
we will try to make arrangments to get you in to Goddard if
possible. We do not presently have plans for a public open
house event because of the short notice and the uncertainty of
the testing schedule. If the satellite is in the test chamber
there may not be very much to see from outside. We will post
any updates to amsat-dc as we learn more about the schedule.

I regret that because of Goddard security regulations, this
offer is limited to persons who are US citizens only.

Dan Schultz N8FGV