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Author Topic: Amateur radio on Chinese rocket that crashed into the Moon?  (Read 563 times)

WA2ISE

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In the June Sky and Telescope magazine, page 11, a news blurb "Booster Impacts Lunar Farside" it mentions that the booster had a "now defunct amateur radio attached to the booster".  This booster is apparently a Chinese Chang 5-T1 mission's booster. 

Hadn't heard of a ham radio satellite system located in high Earth orbit, high enough to reach the Moon, which is about a quarter million miles out.  Seems kinda far to operate it, but if we can use the Moon as a passive RF reflector, I suppose an active receiver and transmitter could work for us that far out? 
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GRUMPY2021

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Re: Amateur radio on Chinese rocket that crashed into the Moon?
« Reply #1 on: May 04, 2022, 11:46:29 AM »

 "Booster Impacts Lunar Farside"... Kind of doubt a radio would survive impact especially if it's Chinese made.    ;D :D
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KF4HR

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Re: Amateur radio on Chinese rocket that crashed into the Moon?
« Reply #2 on: May 04, 2022, 11:59:10 AM »

I wouldn't be so fast to discard Chinese technology.  Have you ever flown a DJI drone?  Amazing technology.

EME'ers are receiving signals back from the moon that are a small fraction of 1 watt.  A repeater on the moon, say 5 watts or more, would make a major reception improvement.

Assuming that article is true I'm curious why the Chinese would attach amateur radio equipment to a booster section.  Isn't the booster sections of rockets normally discarded? 
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WA2ISE

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Re: Amateur radio on Chinese rocket that crashed into the Moon?
« Reply #3 on: May 04, 2022, 02:02:52 PM »

Assuming that article is true I'm curious why the Chinese would attach amateur radio equipment to a booster section.  Isn't the booster sections of rockets normally discarded?

It probably was the uppermost stage of the rocket, used for final orbital insertion of its payload.  That payload was likely China's unmanned lunar lander they flew a couple years ago.  Normally this booster would orbit the Earth, and it was not intended to crash into the Moon.  Yes, it was "discarded" but it would make a platform for the ham satellite.  In that the ham satellite doesn't become a separate object that could bump into the main payload.
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K1KIM

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Re: Amateur radio on Chinese rocket that crashed into the Moon?
« Reply #4 on: May 04, 2022, 02:09:50 PM »

I wouldn't be so fast to discard Chinese technology.  Have you ever flown a DJI drone?  Amazing technology.

EME'ers are receiving signals back from the moon that are a small fraction of 1 watt.  A repeater on the moon, say 5 watts or more, would make a major reception improvement.

Assuming that article is true I'm curious why the Chinese would attach amateur radio equipment to a booster section.  Isn't the booster sections of rockets normally discarded?

Love my Mavic 2
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W9IQ

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Re: Amateur radio on Chinese rocket that crashed into the Moon?
« Reply #5 on: May 04, 2022, 02:24:01 PM »

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- Glenn W9IQ

God runs electromagnetics on Monday, Wednesday and Friday by the wave theory and the devil runs it on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday by the Quantum theory.

K9JKM

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