UoSAT-3

UoSAT-3, also known as UO-14 and OSCAR-14, is a British satellite in Low Earth Orbit. It was built by a spin-off company of the University of Surrey, Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL) and launched in January 1990 from French Guiana.[1] The satellite functioned as one of a series of OSCAR satellite in orbit around the Earth, as well as observing Earth and performing scientific experiments.[2]

UoSAT-3
Mission typeOSCAR
OperatorUniversity of Surrey
COSPAR ID1990-005B[1]
SATCAT no.20437
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerSSTL
Start of mission
Launch date22 January 1990, 01:35:27 (1990-01-22UTC01:35:27Z) UTC
RocketAriane 40[2]
Launch siteKourou ELA-2
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeSun-synchronous
Perigee altitude776 km (482 mi)
Apogee altitude792 km (492 mi)
Inclination98.7491 degrees
Period100.5 minutes
Epoch15 April 2019, 21:11 UTC[3]
 

UoSAT-3 was launched on the same rocket as its sister satellite, UoSAT-4.[2]

Current Status

UoSAT-3 exceeded its expected operational life by 3 years and ceased active service in 1999.[4] However, amateur radio enthusiasts managed to track the satellite for a certain amount of time afterwards via the satellite's FM voice transponder.[4]

The satellite, which is now non-operational, forms a part of the growing amounts of space debris orbiting around the Earth. The payload will decay in the Earth's atmosphere some time in the future.

References
  1. "Sat Cat". Celestrak. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  2. "UoSat 3, 4, 5 (UO 14, 15, 22 / Oscar 14, 15, 22) / Healthsat 1". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  3. "Oscar 14 - Orbit". Heavens-Above. 15 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  4. "Messages from Space". University of Surrey. Retrieved 27 June 2012.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.