AMSAT is a name for various amateur radio satellite organizations worldwide. In particular, it often refers to the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, headquartered in Washington, D.C. AMSAT organizations design, build, arrange launches for, and then operate (command) satellites carrying amateur radio payloads, including the OSCAR series of satellites. Other informally affiliated national organizations exist, such as AMSAT Germany (AMSAT-DL) and AMSAT Japan (JAMSAT).
A CubeSat is a class of small satellite with a form factor of 10 cm (3.9 in) cubes. CubeSats have a mass of no more than 2 kg (4.4 lb) per unit, and often use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components for their electronics and structure. CubeSats are deployed into orbit from the International Space Station, or launched as secondary payloads on a launch vehicle. As of December 2023, more than 2,300 CubeSats have been launched.
AMSAT-OSCAR 51 or AO-51 is the in-orbit name designation of a now defunct LEO amateur radio satellite of the OSCAR series; formerly known as ECHO, built by AMSAT. It was launched on June 29, 2004 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on a Dnepr launch vehicle. It is in Sun synchronous low Earth orbit.
HAMSAT also known as HAMSAT INDIA, VU2SAT and VO-52 is a microsatellite weighing 42.5 kilograms (93.7 lb), providing amateur radio satellite communications services for Indian and international amateur radio operators. This satellite carries the in-orbit designation of VO-52, and is an OSCAR series satellite.
AMSAT-OSCAR 7, or AO-7, is the second Phase 2 amateur radio satellite constructed by the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT). It was launched into Low Earth Orbit on November 15, 1974 and remained operational until a battery failure in 1981. After 21 years of apparent silence, the satellite was heard again on June 21, 2002 – 27 years after launch. At that time the public learned that the satellite had remained intermittently functional and was used surreptitiously for communication by the anticommunist opposition Fighting Solidarity during martial law in Poland.
SSETI Express was the first spacecraft to be designed and built by European students and was launched by the European Space Agency. SSETI Express is a small spacecraft, similar in size and shape to a washing machine. On board the student-built spacecraft were three CubeSat picosatellites, extremely small satellites weighing around one kg each. These were deployed one hour and forty minutes after launch. Twenty-one university groups, working from locations spread across Europe and with very different cultural backgrounds, worked together via the internet to jointly create the satellite. The expected lifetime of the mission was planned to be 2 months. SSETI Express encountered an unusually fast mission development: less than 18 months from kick-off in January 2004 to flight-readiness.
AMSAT-OSCAR 16, also known as AO-16 and PACSAT, is the in-orbit name designation of an amateur radio satellite of the OSCAR series. It was built by AMSAT and was launched on 22 January 1990 from Kourou, French Guiana on an Ariane 4 launch vehicle. It is in Sun synchronous low Earth orbit.
An amateur radio satellite is an artificial satellite built and used by amateur radio operators. It forms part of the Amateur-satellite service. These satellites use amateur radio frequency allocations to facilitate communication between amateur radio stations.
Technology Education Satellite (TechEdSat) is a successful nano-sat flight series conducted from the NASA Ames Research Center in collaboration with numerous universities. While one of the principal aims has been to introduce young professionals and university students to the practical realm of developing space flight hardware, considerable innovations have been introduced. In addition, this evolving flight platform has tested concepts for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) sample return, as well as planetary nano-sat class mission concepts.
LituanicaSAT-1 was one of the first two Lithuanian satellites. It was launched along with the second Cygnus spacecraft and 28 Flock-1 CubeSats aboard an Antares 120 carrier rocket flying from Pad 0B at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island to the International Space Station. The launch was scheduled to occur in December 2013, but later was rescheduled to 9 January 2014 and occurred then. The satellite was broadcasting greetings of Lithuanian president, Mrs. Dalia Grybauskaitė. The satellite was deployed from the International Space Station via the NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer on February 28, 2014. All LituanicaSAT-1 subsystems have been turned on, tested and proved to be working properly. The mission is considered a complete success by its team of engineers. The mission ended upon the reentry and disintegration of the satellite on July 28, 2014.
FUNcube-1 is a complete educational single unit CubeSat satellite with the goal of enthusing and educating young people about radio, space, physics and electronics. It is part of a program which aims to launch more of these educational CubeSats. It is the first satellite with outreach as its primary mission.
Es'hail 2 is a Qatari satellite, launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on November 15, 2018. Es'hail 2 was built by Japan's Mitsubishi Electric company, and operates at 26° East longitude along a geostationary orbit to provide direct-to-home television services in the Middle East and North Africa region. The satellite features 24 Ku-band and 11 Ka-band transponders to provide direct broadcasting services for television, government and commercial content distribution. In addition to commercial services, the payload of Es'hail 2 includes a linear transponder with a bandwidth of 500 kHz and 8 MHz for the amateur radio satellite service, with uplink on 2.4 GHz and downlink on 10.45 GHz.
Fox-1B, AO-91 or AMSAT OSCAR 91 is a United States amateur radio satellite. It is a 1U Cubesat, was built by the AMSAT-NA and carries a single-channel transponder for FM radio. The satellite has a whip antenna for the 70 cm and 23 cm bands (uplink), and a second antenna for the 2 m band (downlink). Fox-1B is the second amateur radio satellite of the Fox series of AMSAT North America.
Fox-1A, AO-85 or AMSAT OSCAR 85 is an American amateur radio satellite. It is a 1U Cubesat, was built by the AMSAT-NA and carries a single-channel transponder for FM radio. The satellite has one rod antenna each for the 70 centimetres (28 in) and 2 metres bands. To enable a satellite launch under NASA's Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) program, the satellite continues to carry a Penn State University student experiment.
ParkinsonSAT, PSat or Naval Academy OSCAR 84 is a U.S. technology demonstration satellite and an amateur radio satellite for Packet Radio. It was built at the U.S. Naval Academy and was planned as a double satellite. The name ParkinsonSAT was chosen in honor of Bradford Parkinson, the father of the GPS system. After successful launch, the satellite was assigned the OSCAR number 84.
BRICSat-P or OSCAR 83 (NO-83) previously known as PSat-B, is a U.S. technology demonstration satellite and an amateur radio satellite for Packet Radio. BRICSat-P is a low cost 1.5U CubeSat built by the U.S. Naval Academy Satellite Lab in collaboration with George Washington University, that will demonstrate on-orbit operation of a Micro-Cathode Arc Thruster (µCAT) electric propulsion system and carries an amateur communication payload.
Fox-1Cliff, AO-95 or AMSAT OSCAR 95 is an American amateur radio satellite. Fox-1Cliff is a 1U CubeSat built by AMSAT-NA that carries a single-channel transponder for mode U/V in FM.
OSCAR 8 is an American amateur radio satellite. It was developed and built by radio amateurs of the AMSAT and launched on March 5, 1978 as a secondary payload together with the Earth observation satellite Landsat 3 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, United States.
Fox-1E, AO-109, Evolution or AMSAT OSCAR 109 is an American amateur radio satellite. It is a 1U Cubesat, was built by the AMSAT-NA and carries a single-channel transponder for FM radio. Fox-1E is the fifth amateur radio satellite of the Fox series of AMSAT North America.
