OSCAR 2

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.

OSCAR 2

OSCAR 2
Mission type	Communications
Operator	Project OSCAR / DoD
Harvard designation	1962 Chi 1
COSPAR ID	1962-022B
SATCAT no.	305
Mission duration	22 days
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass	10.0 kilograms (22.0 lb)
Dimensions	15.2 by 25.4 by 33 centimeters (6.0 in × 10.0 in × 13.0 in)
Start of mission
Launch date	2 June 1962, 00:43 UTC
Rocket	Thor DM-21 Agena-B
Launch site	Vandenberg LC-75-3-4
End of mission
Decay date	21 June 1962 (1962-06-21)
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Eccentricity	0.01399
Perigee altitude	207 kilometers (129 mi)
Apogee altitude	394 kilometers (245 mi)
Inclination	101.00 degrees
Period	90.5 minutes
OSCAR ← OSCAR 1 OSCAR 3 →

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]

The continuous radio Morse message "hi hi hi ..." by the first private satellites called OSCAR, beginning with OSCAR 1 in 1961 (recording from OSCAR 2, 1962)

See also

• Spaceflight portal

• OSCAR 1
• OSCAR 3
• AMSAT