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AMSAT-OSCAR-6


Launch Date: 15 October 1972, Vandenberg AFB, CA.
Orbit type: Circular LEO, sun-synchronous.
Weight:
Stabilization: Passive magnetic.
Beacons: 435 MHz, 29 MHz.
Telemetry: 24 channels, CW.
Transponders: Mode A, 1 W downlink. 435 MHz beacon.
Antennas: 1/4 wave monopoles (435 and 144 MHz); 1/2 wave dipole (29MHz).
Power: 5.5 W solar array, NiCd battery.

Notes: Phase II-A. Operational lifetime 4.5 years (battery failure 21 June 1977). First complex control system (discrete logic). First satellite-satellite communication (via Oscar 7). Demonstrated Doppler-location of ground stations for search and rescue. Demonstrated low-cost medical data relay from remote locations.

References:
"The Sixth Amateur Satellite - A Technical Report: Part II", Jan King, W3GEY, QST, August 1973, p. 69.
"OSCAR 6 - Gone but not forgotten", W0LER, QST, November 1977, p. 31.
"The Satellite Experimenter's Handbook", 1st edition, Martin Davidoff, K2UBC, American Radio Relay League, Newington, CT, 1985.
"OSCAR at 25: The Amateur Space Program Comes of Age", Jan King, W3GEY, et al., QST, December 1986, p. 15.

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