As Australia prepares to launch its first major space project in more than 30 years -- a mini satellite called FedSat -- organisers have added an unusual twist to the program.
The pint-size FedSat will provide unique broadcasting opportunities for those wanting to reach the outer limits.
Project 'SpaceGram' will be able to receive, store and transmit audio messages in three frequency bands, and will give -ordinary people access to space," Centre Manager of Cooperative Research Centre for Satellite Systems (CRCSS), Jeff Kingwell said.
-Anyone can join the space mission. It would normally cost $15m to get somebody into space for a day. This way Australians can become virtual astronauts, putting them in space for over 100 years," he said.
Joining -SpaceGram" will cost $3.95 per minute through a telephone service, recording spoken messages on CD that will be sent in to orbit above mainland Australia and broadcast from space. Listeners around the world, using UHF ham radios, will be able to pick-up the broadcasts.
FedSat will be placed into orbit 800km above the earth on November 1, 2001. It will be launched by the Japanese National Space Development Agency (NASDA).
Australian songwriter Paul Kelly will be honoured by the project with the inclusion of his song -From little things big things grow" during the broadcasts.
Local companies will be encouraged to give their products a plug by recording advertisements for broadcast from FedSat.
-We are very keen to encourage space commerce. This is the way of the future. Two to three years ago private investors started to exceed government investment on a global basis. There are now more private sector sponsored space projects," Kingwell said.
-We hope to raise money to support further Australian space research. We want to encourage public participation for future satellites," Kingwell said.
The cube-shaped satellite will conduct experiments in communications, space science, remote sensing and engineering while in the orbital plane.
FedSat is slated to test a high performance computer, gather data from the outer atmosphere and measure changes to the Earth's magnetic field. CRCSS hopes to have the satellite in operation for two years.
-The interaction operation of those payloads between the Sun and the Earth will give early warnings of disruptions to communication systems. We will gather a lot more knowledge to hopefully intervene in future disruptions."
CRCSS is also working with the Australian Space Institute on another smaller, more complex satellite and also operating joint missions with overseas space programs.
