Australis-OSCAR 5

Australis-OSCAR 5
COSPAR ID 1970-008B
SATCAT № 4321
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass 17.7 kilograms (39 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date 23 January 1970, 11:31:02
Rocket Delta N6 D76
Launch site Vandenberg SLC-2W
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth Orbit
Inclination 102.04 degrees

OSCAR 5 (aka Australis-OSCAR 5) is an amateur radio satellite that was launched into Low Earth Orbit on 23 January 1970 by a Thor Delta launcher from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Lompoc, California. AO-5 was launched piggyback with ITOS-1 (TIROS-M weather satellite).[1]

Built by students at The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Battery powered, Australis-OSCAR 5 transmitted telemetry on both 2 meter (144.050 MHz at 50 mW) and 10 meter (29.450 MHz at 250 mW) bands that operated for 23 and 46 days respectively. Passive magnetic attitude stabilization was performed by carrying two bar magnets to align with the Earth's magnetic field in order to provide a favorable antenna footprint. The University of Melbourne compiled tracking reports from hundreds of stations in 27 countries.

Firsts


References

  1. "Oscar 5". NASA National Space Science Data Center. 30 June 1977. Retrieved 11 February 2013.

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Notes