OSCAR 8

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 type	Amateur Radio Satellite
Operator	AMSAT
COSPAR ID	1978-026B[1]
SATCAT no.	10703
Mission duration	5 years, 3 months and 18 days
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass	27.2 kilograms (60 lb)
Dimensions	38 cm × 38 cm × 33 cm (15 in × 15 in × 13 in)
Power	15 W
Start of mission
Launch date	5 March 1978, 17:54 UTC
Rocket	Delta-2910 139
Launch site	Vandenberg SLC-2W
End of mission
Last contact	24 June 1983 (1983-06-25)
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Semi-major axis	7,274.0 km (4,519.9 mi)
Perigee altitude	899.1 km (558.7 mi)
Apogee altitude	907.8 km (564.1 mi)
Inclination	99.0291°
Period	102.9 minutes
Epoch	6 February 2020[2]
OSCAR ← 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

Transponder 1

• Uplink (MHz): 145.850 - 145.900
• Downlink (MHz): 29.400 - 29.500
• Beacon (MHz): 29.402
• Mode: SSB CW

Transponder 2

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