| COSPAR ID | 1965-016F  |
|---|---|
| SATCAT no. | 01293 |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 9 March, 1965 |
| Launch site | Vandenberg AFB, Lompoc, CA USA |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Altitude | 455 km (283 mi) |
| Inclination | 101.00° |
OSCAR III (aka OSCAR3) is the third amateur radio satellite launched by Project OSCAR into Low Earth Orbit on 9 March, 1965. The satellite was launched piggyback with seven United States Air Force satellites. The satellite employed no attitude control system. OSCAR III linear transponder lasted 18 days. More than 1000 amateurs in 22 countries communicated through the linear transponder. The two beacon transmitters continued operating for several months.[1]
OSCAR 3 was launched March 9, 1965 by a Thor-DM21 Agena D launcher from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Lompoc, California. OSCAR 3 was the third satellite built and launched by the Project OSCAR team. Weight 16.3 kg.[1][2]
Project OSCAR Inc. started in 1960 with a group of western United States radio amateurs, many who worked in the military and defense industries, to investigate the possibility of putting an amateur satellite in orbit. Project OSCAR was responsible for the construction of the first Amateur Radio Satellite OSCAR-1, that was successfully launched from Vandenberg AFB in California . OSCAR-1 orbited the earth for 22 days, transmitting the “HI” greeting you see in Morse Code above. Project OSCAR was responsible for launching the next 3 amateur radio satellites during the 1960s: Oscar-II, Oscar-III, and the Australian Oscar-IV.
In 1969, AMSAT-NA was founded by radio amateurs working at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and the Baltimore-Washington DC region, to continue the efforts begun by Project OSCAR. Its first project was to coordinate the launch of Australia's OSCAR 5, constructed by students at the University of Melbourne.[3]
Today, over fifty years later, Project OSCAR's mission is “To initiate and support activities that promote the Satellite Amateur Radio Hobby”. Our primary goal is to reach out and provide logistical support, training and in some cases equipment to amateur radio associations, schools and the public at large.
Oscar III was an upgrade from the earlier Oscar I and Oscar II amateur satellites, three years earlier.
Improvements included:
{{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
{{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
