OSCAR 8 (also called AO-08, Phase 2D or Amsat P2D) 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.

OSCAR 8
Mission typeAmateur Radio Satellite
OperatorAMSAT
COSPAR ID1978-026B[1]
SATCAT no.10703
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass27.2 kilograms (60 lb)
Dimensions38 cm × 38 cm × 33 cm (15 in × 15 in × 13 in)
Power15 W
Start of mission
Launch date5 March 1978, 17:54 UTC
RocketDelta-2910 139
Launch siteVandenberg SLC-2W
End of mission
Last contact24 June 1983 (1983-06-25)
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Semi-major axis7,274.0 km (4,519.9 mi)
Perigee altitude899.1 km (558.7 mi)
Apogee altitude907.8 km (564.1 mi)
Inclination99.0291°
Period102.9 minutes
Epoch6 February 2020[2]
← OSCAR 7
OSCAR 9 →

The satellite had two linear transponders, from the 2-meter band (uplink) to the 10-meter band and the 70-centimeter band (downlink).

Frequencies

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Transponder 1

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Transponder 2

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  • Uplink (MHz): 145.900 - 146.000
  • Downlink (MHz): 435.200 - 435.100
  • Beacon (MHz): 435.095
  • Mode: SSB CW

References

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  1. ^ NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. "OSCAR 8". NSSDCA Master Catalog. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  2. ^ n2yo.com. "OSCAR 8". Retrieved 6 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)