UoSAT-OSCAR 14

Satellite Summary

Name: UoSAT-OSCAR 14 (UoSAT-3, UoSAT-D)
NASA Catalog Number:
Launched: January 22, 1990
Launch vehicle: Ariane 4
Launched piggyback with: SPOT-2 and five other microsatellites
Launch location: Kourou, French Guiana
Weight: 46 kg
Orbit: 789 x 804
Inclination: 98.7 degrees
Period:
Size: 350 x 350 x 650 mm
Telemetry:

Downlink:

435.070 MHz FM

Uplink:

145.975 MHz FM

Features:

Packet Communications Experiment (PCE)
First 9.6 kbps Amateur Radio data communications satellite

Firsts:

Pioneered the PACSAT communication concept
Prototype CCD camera

Status: Non-Operational

Description

UoSAT-OSCAR 14 was launched January 22, 1990 by a Ariane 4 launcher from Kourou, French Guiana. Launched on the first Ariane ASAP flight V35 with SPOT-2 and five other microsatellites. Weight 46 kg. Orbit 789 x 804. Inclination 98.7 degrees. Box shaped 350 x 350 x 650 mm. Four solar panels and 6 m gravity gradient boom. Store-and-forward communications transponder (VHF and UHF) with 13 Mbytes of solid state storage and a cosmic particle detector.

UoSAT-OSCAR14 spent its first 18 months in orbit operating as an amateur store and forward satellite. In early 1992, all amateur operations were moved from AO-14 to UoSAT-OSCAR 22. AO-14 operations were then dedicated for use by VITA (Volunteers In Technical Assistance) who used it for sending and receiving messages in Africa. The computer used for store and forward communications became non-operational. In March 2000 UO-14 was reconfigured as a single channel FM repeater. Since then UO-14 was very popular as an FM repeater in space. Unfortunately, its uplink was only 5 kHz below KO-25's uplink and both satellites are tracking close to one another in their orbits. As a result, KO-25's uplink was often blocked by FM stations accessing UO-14, and several UO-14 users have reported hearing 9600 baud data transmissions destined for KO-25 through UO-14.

In November 2003 UO-14 was been declared officially dead. The Mission Control Centre at the Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) Center for Satellite Engineering Research reported that the venerable and popular bird "has reached the end of its mission after nearly 14 years in orbit. Since launch, UO-14 has completed over 72,000 orbits and as many charge/discharge cycles of its on-board NiCd battery," said AMSAT-UK Chairman Martin Sweeting, G3YJO. "However recently one of the battery cells has become exhausted and can no longer support continuous operation of the repeater." Sweeting said UO-14's transmitter shuts down shortly after it is commanded "on" due to undervoltage, so the microsatellite's mission has been terminated. "Thank you UO-14 for your long service!" Sweeting concluded.

For more information see:

UoSAT & SSTL Satellite Mission Summary
UoSAT-3 Microsatellite Mission
ARRL Web: UO-14 Satellite Declared Dead (Nov. 11, 2003)

References

Martin Sweeting and Jeff Ward, "UoSAT-D and UoSAT-E Spacecraft to Fly on Ariane," OSCAR News, Oct 1988, pp 15-19.
"University of Surrey Launches Two New Satellites," OSCAR News, Feb 1990, pp 16-22.
"Six for the Price of One - Part I," The AMSAT Journal, Vol. 13, No. 1, Mar 1990, p. 1; Part II: The AMSAT Journal, Vol. 13, No. 2, May 1990, p. 1.
Doug Loughmiller, "Successful OSCAR Launch Ushers in the 90's," QST, Apr 1990, p. 52.
Joe Kasser, Martin Sweeting, and Jeff Ward, "The UoSAT-OSCAR 14 and 15 Spacecraft," The AMSAT Journal, Vol. 13, No. 2, May 1990, pp 9-12.
Jeff Ward, "A Tale of Two UoSATs," QST, Jul 1990, p. 62.

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Last update November 16, 2003 - N7HPR