Sputnik 99
| Sputnik 99 Sputnik Jr 3 Radio Sputnik 19 (RS-19) |
|
|---|---|
| Type: | Amateur radio satellite |
| Country: |
 France Russia
|
| Operator: |
Rosaviakosmos AMSAT-France AMSAT-Russia |
| COSPAR-ID : | 1999-015C |
| Mission dates | |
| Dimensions: | 3.5 kg |
| Size: | Ball with a diameter of 23 cm |
| Begin: | April 16, 1999 |
| Starting place: | Baikonur Cosmodrome |
| Status: | burned up on July 30, 1999 |
| Orbit data | |
| Rotation time : | 91 min |
| Orbit inclination : | 51.7 ° |
| Apogee height : | 350 km |
| Perigee height : | 350 km |
Sputnik 99 ( Russian Спутник 99 , French Spoutnik 99 ), also Sputnik Jr 3 , Radio Sputnik 19 and RS-19 was a French - Russian amateur radio satellite . The satellite consisted of a model of Sputnik 1 on a scale of 1: 3, had a mass of approx. 3.5 kg and was built by AMSAT-France .
Controversy over frequency usage
After the satellite was delivered to Russia for its scheduled launch, the Russian space control center sold it to a Swiss watch company. The AMSAT organizations were not informed of this. When it became known that the satellite would also broadcast advertising messages on the 2-meter band , there were violent protests from amateur radio associations . The day before the satellite was deployed, it was decided to deploy it without batteries.
mission
Sputnik 99 was launched on board the Progress-M 41 on April 2, 1999 and brought to the Mir space station. On April 16, 1999, the satellite was released into its own orbit without batteries during an spacecraft mission by cosmonauts Jean-Pierre Haigneré and Viktor Afanassjew . It burned up on July 30, 1999.
literature
- Frank Sperber: Watch company buys satellite. In: Funkamateur , May 1999, page 594
- Ulrich Bihlmayer: How a Mini-Sputnik became a Swatch-Shitnik. In: Funkamateur , June 1999, page 634
- Frank Sperber: Swatch satellite with no broadcasting activity. In: Funkamateur, June 1999, page 708
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sputnik 99. March 3, 2019, accessed on March 24, 2019 (English).