OSCAR 1

OSCAR 1
Type:	Amateur radio satellite
Country:	United States
COSPAR-ID :	1961-034B
Mission dates
Size:	15.2 cm x 25.4 cm x 33 cm
Begin:	December 12, 1961, 20:40 UTC
Starting place:	Vandenberg SLC-1W
Launcher:	Thor / Agena
Flight duration:	20 days
Status:	burned up on January 31, 1962
Orbit data
Rotation time :	91.1 min
Orbit inclination :	81.2 °
Apogee height :	474 km
Perigee height :	245 km

OSCAR 1 ( English Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio ) was the first amateur radio satellite . It was built by a group of Californian radio amateurs , from whose example the AMSAT was later developed. The cost of building the satellite was around $ 63 in 1960, which, adjusted for inflation, corresponds to today's $ 540 or EUR 450.

Mission, structure and payload

The satellite was launched on December 12, 1961 together with the Discoverer 36 satellite from a Thor / Agena rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base . Oscar 1 was the first secondary payload for an orbital launch and the first satellite designed and manufactured without government support. On January 31, 1962, it burned up when it was planned to re- enter the earth's atmosphere.

The satellite, powered by mercury batteries, sent a simple temperature telemetry signal with 140 milliwatt transmitter output power at 144.983 MHz in the 2 m band . The character sequence “HI” in Morse code was chosen as the basic signal (  · · · · · ·  ) because it was easy to generate, had a favorable duty cycle and was known as laughter among radio amateurs. The Morse code was determined by the temperature. OSCAR 1 has been exempted from the obligation to send an amateur radio call sign.

Only 16 transistors were installed for the transmitter and telemetry , and at the request of the American military, an incorrect circuit diagram was published.

The COSPAR designation was first 1961-A-Kappa-2 and was changed to 1961-034B with the conversion in 1963.

literature

• Harley Gabrielson: The Oscar satellite. In: QST , February 1962, pp. 21–24, 132, 134 ( ukamsat.files.wordpress.com , PDF; 1.6 MB; English).
• Andreas Bilsing: OSCAR-1 Launched 50 Years Ago . (PDF; English)

Web links

Commons : OSCAR 1  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} OSCAR 1 in the NSSDCA Master Catalog , accessed on May 29, 2014 (English).
2. ↑ OSCAR 1 - orbit data in the NSSDCA Master Catalog, accessed on June 13, 2014 (English).
3. ↑ Communications Satellite, Oscar I. National Air and Space Museum, accessed May 29, 2014 . 
4. ↑ Adjustment for inflation and currency conversions via{{ Inflation }} and {{ Exchange rate }}
5. ↑ Andreas Bilsing, DL2LUX: OSCAR-1 Launched 50 Years Ago. (PDF) Retrieved June 13, 2014 (English, the original article was published in German in Funkamateur magazine ). 
6. ↑ Harley Gabrielson W6HEK: The OSCAR Satellite. (PDF) In: QST. ARRL, February 1962, p. 23 , accessed June 13, 2014 . 
7. ^ OSCAR I and Amateur Radio Satellites: Celebrating 50 Years. arrl.org, May 11, 2011, accessed May 29, 2014 . 
8. ↑ Oscar in the Encyclopedia Astronautica , accessed on June 13, 2014 (English).