COSPAR ID 1970-008B Reference system Geocentric Inclination 102.04° Launch mass 17.7 kg Launch date 23 January 1970 | SATCAT no. 4321 Launch site Vandenberg SLC-2W Inclination 102.04° Launch mass 17.7 kg | |
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Similar OSCAR 1, AMSAT‑OSCAR 7, UoSAT‑1, UoSAT‑2, Dove‑OSCAR 17 | ||
The story of australis oscar 5 australia s first satellite
OSCAR 5 (a.k.a. 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).
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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.