Tag Archives: OSCAR

Dec 12 2011

50th Anniversary of OSCAR 1

Lance Ginner K6GSJ with OSCAR 1

Lance Ginner K6GSJ with OSCAR 1

The first amateur radio satellite OSCAR 1 was launched 50 years ago on December 12, 1961.

OSCAR 1 was battery powered and signals lasted for about two weeks. It re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere on January 31, 1962.

The AMSAT News Service is re-running the Project OSCAR Newsletters to commemorate the 50th anniversary of OSCAR 1.

The Newsletters were hand-typed back in 1961. Thanks to Don Ferguson, KD6IRE for scanning the original documents announcing OSCAR 1.

This is from the newsletter produced on that historic day and reproduces the historic telegram sent by the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) with the news that OSCAR 1 had been received in the United Kingdom.

O S C A R N E W S L E T T E R

December 12, 1961

OSCAR SATELLITE IN ORBIT

At 2041 GMT, 12 December 1961 the Oscar satellite was hurled into orbit by the Discoverer XXXVI launching vehicle from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The satellite immediately went into a North-South orbit and was picked up loud and clear by the hams at KC4USB (Marie Byrd Base) at the South Pole a few minutes after launch. The word was quickly relayed back to the Oscar Tracking Station, K6QEZ, by W4ABY. Acquisition was also obtained by hams at Kodiak, Alaska and by KH6UK in Hawaii on the first pass.

Oscar is on a frequency between 144.990 and 145.008 and has tremendous c.w. signal strength on a direct, overhead pass! Tracking reports have begun to flow into the Center. W1AW heard the first pass S9 over the East coast.

The following telegram was received by the Center from the RSGB:
OSCAR HEARD 0055 GMT X KEYING OK X STRENGTH NINE PLUS X DOPPLER SEVEN KC X FURTHER DATA AIR HAIL X.

Orbit is being computed, but insufficient time has elapsed to permit predictions to be made of time Oscar will pass over your area. Listen to W1AW and the Voice of America for orbital predictions. Continuous 24-hour a day monitoring is essential until predictions are established. In fact, this monitoring is urged to check for unpredicted reception at times when the Oscar satellite is theoretically out of range! Our thanks to the Air Force and men of Vandenburgh AFB who helped to make this historic milestone possible!

Actual launch was attended by W6SAI, K6LFH, W6MLZ and W0TSN. Full Oscar story in February QST and CQ and more details in our next news letter!

AMSAT News Service (ANS)

Listen to an original audio recording of OSCAR 1 here

Interview with OSCAR Pioneer Lance Ginner K6GSJ

Project OSCAR History

The February 1962 edition of QST carried several articles on OSCAR 1. Our thanks to ARRL for permission to post them here.

OSCAR 1 Launch on front cover of QST Feb 1962
The OSCAR Satellite
Communications for Project Oscar
Sixty Years of Radio Amateur Communication – Marconi to the OSCAR Satellite

AMSAT-UK publishes a colour A4 newsletter, OSCAR News, which is full of Amateur Satellite information. Free sample issue at http://www.uk.amsat.org/on_193_final.pdf Join online at http://tinyurl.com/JoinAMSAT-UK

Nov 8 2011

AubieSat-1 designated AO-71

OSCAR Number Administrator, Bill Tynan, W3XO reports that he has advised J. M. Wersinger, PhD, KI4YAU, Professor Emeritus and Director of Auburn University’s Student Space Program, that following the successful NASA ELaNa III launch on October 28, 2011 of AubieSat-1, and by the request of the AubieSat-1 team, the new satellite has been assigned an OSCAR number.

Professor Wersinger documented that telemetry has been received from the satellite. The IARU-Sat Website states that AubieSat-1 was fully coordinated with the IARU.

Bill wrote, “Therefore, by the authority vested in me by the AMSAT-NA President, I hereby designate AubieSat-1 as AubieSat Oscar 71 or AO-71 and welcome this newest OSCAR into the Amateur Radio satellite community.

On behalf of AMSAT-NA and the world’s amateur radio satellite community, I congratulate Professor Wersinger, Auburn University and all of those responsible for building, testing and launching this new CubeSat. May its mission meet with success.”

Bill Tynan, W3XO
OSCAR Number Administrator

Nov 6 2011

OSCAR 1 Video

A prototype of the first Amateur Radio satellite OSCAR 1 has been on display at the AMSAT symposium in San Jose.  OSCAR-1 was launched nearly 50 years ago on December 12, 1961 and its beacon sent the letters HI on 144.9830 MHz CW.

Bob Allison, WB1GCM of ARRL’s Technical Lab led the effort to refurbish the OSCAR 1 prototype on display at ARRL headquarters. With the help of OSCAR 1 developer Lance Ginner, K6GSJ, Bob and his team got OSCAR 1 operational again.

The refurbished OSCAR-1 was on display at the ARRL exhibit area at the 2011 Dayton Hamvention. The OSCAR 1 prototype was again on display during the AMSAT Symposium where everyone was able to once again hear the CW transmissions (now managed by a PIC controller) in the 145 MHz band.

Additionally, the AMSAT News Service will re-run the weekly Project OSCAR Newsletters to commemorate the 50th anniversary of OSCAR 1. During the November/December 2011 time frame you will be able to share the excitement of the launch campaign that started it all 50 years ago.

Watch for the re-publication of the Project OSCAR Newsletters in the AMSAT Journal [AMSAT-NA] . The Newsletters were hand-typed back in 1961. Thanks to Don Ferguson, KD6IRE for scanning the original documents announcing OSCAR 1.

Watch OSCAR 1 – 1st Amateur Radio Sat at AMSAT space symposium 2011 – San Jose,CA

AMSAT News Servce http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/news/

Oct 30 2011

OSCAR-9 and OSCAR-11 TV News Reports

The original TV news reports about the United Kingdom’s first Amateur Radio satellites, UOSAT-1 (OSCAR-9) and UOSAT-2 (OSCAR-11), can now be seen on the web.

In ‘Talking Satellite’, made February 15, 1983, Martin Sweeting G3YJO talks about OSCAR-9 and its speech synthesizer.
The ITN description reads: “The World’s first talking satellite begins to speak. It was launched 18 months ago in America for the University of Surrey and one of its purposes is to encourage interest among school children in space technology.”
Watch it at http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist//ITN/1983/02/15/AS150283008/

In ‘British Satellite’, made February 7, 1984, Martin Sweeting G3YJO talks about OSCAR-11 due to be launched the following month.
The ITN description reads: “Staff at the University of Surrey have designed and built a spacecraft in 5 months after being challenged by NASA.  Intvw Dr Martin Sweeting, University of Surrey.”
Watch it at http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist//ITN/1984/02/07/AS070284011/

30th anniversary of UoSAT-1 (OSCAR-9)
http://www.uk.amsat.org/2011/10/12/30th-anniversary-of-uosat-1-oscar-9/

UoSAT-2 (OSCAR-11) Report September 1, 2011
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/september2011/oscar11_report.htm

OSCAR News is published quarterly by AMSAT-UK and posted to members.
To get your copy join AMSAT-UK online at http://tinyurl.com/JoinAMSAT-UK/
Free sample issue at http://www.uk.amsat.org/on_193_final.pdf

Oct 14 2011

AMSAT-NA to celebrate 50 years in space at symposium

AMSAT to celebrate 50 years in space at symposium

The AMSAT-NA 2011 Space Symposium will be held on Friday, November 4-6 in San Jose, California. This year’s Symposium coincides with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of OSCAR 1, the first Amateur Radio satellite.

Continue reading →

Sep 4 2011

World Amateur Radio Day – Celebrating 50 Years in Space

In light of the anniversary of the launch of OSCAR 1 on December 12, 1961 and the launch of OSCAR 2 on June 2, 1962, the IARU Administrative Council selected the phrase, “Amateur Radio Satellites: Celebrating 50 Years in Space” as the theme for World Amateur Radio Day, April 18, 2012

World Amateur Radio Day celebrates the founding on April 18, 1925 of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) and hams around the world will be on the air. The 2011 event attracted the interest of TV news broadcasters: http://www.southgatearc.org/news/april2011/amateur_rady_day_on_tv.htm

Facebook  http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=189990007710376

Notes of the IARU Region 1 C5 committee meeting that took place in Sun City August 14-16, 2011 have been published in the VHF-UHF-MW newsletter Editon 58 that can be dowloaded at http://www.oevsv.at/export/oevsv/download/UKW/Newsletter_58.pdf

IARU Region 1 Minutes of the Final Plenary, August 17, 2011

IARU Administrative Council Summary Record August 19-20, 2011