Engineering:OSCAR 2

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OSCAR 2
OSCAR 2
Mission typeCommunications
OperatorProject OSCAR / DoD
Harvard designation1962 Chi 1
COSPAR ID1962-022B
SATCAT no.305
Mission duration22 days
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass10.0 kilograms (22.0 lb)
Dimensions15.2 by 25.4 by 33 centimeters (6.0 in × 10.0 in × 13.0 in)
Start of mission
Launch date2 June 1962, 00:43 UTC
RocketThor DM-21 Agena-B
Launch siteVandenberg LC-75-3-4
End of mission
Decay date21 June 1962 (1962-06-21)
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Eccentricity0.01399
Perigee altitude207 kilometers (129 mi)
Apogee altitude394 kilometers (245 mi)
Inclination101.00 degrees
Period90.5 minutes
OSCAR
← OSCAR 1
OSCAR 3 →
 

OSCAR 2 is the second amateur radio satellite launched by Project OSCAR into Low Earth orbit. OSCAR 2 was launched June 2, 1962, by a Thor-DM21 Agena B launcher from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Lompoc, California. The satellite, a rectangular box (30 cm × 25 cm × 12 cm (11.8 in × 9.8 in × 4.7 in)) weighing 10 kg (22 lb), was launched as a secondary payload (ballast) for Corona 43, the fifth launch of a KH-4 satellite.

The satellite employed a monopole transmitting antenna 60 cm (24 in) long extended from the center of the convex surface, but had no attitude control system. OSCAR 2 lasted 18 days, ceasing operation on June 20, 1962, and re-entered June 21, 1962.[1][2]

OSCAR 2 incorporated certain design changes from the earlier OSCAR 1.[2]

File:Oscar 2.ogg

See also

References

  1. "Oscar 2". NASA National Space Science Data Center. 30 June 1977. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1962-022b. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 "OSCAR 2". Gunter's Space Page. 31 December 1999. https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/oscar-1.htm. 

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.