Communications
OSCAR 7 (AO-7)
Amateur Radio Satellite · AMSAT
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AMSAT-OSCAR 7 (AO-7), launched in 1974 and the subject of one of amateur radio's most celebrated resurrection stories. A battery short circuit killed it stone dead in 1981 — for 21 years it was considered defunct space junk. Then in 2002, amateur radio operators detected signals again: the failed battery had developed an open circuit, letting the satellite run straight off its solar panels whenever sunlit. Fifty-two years after launch, AO-7 is still operational and remains the oldest working amateur radio satellite in orbit.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Low Earth Orbitcan appear as a fast-moving star at dawn or dusk
- Altitude
- 897–909 mi (1,444–1,463 km)
- Inclination
- 102.0°
- One orbit
- 114.8 minutes12.5 orbits a day
- NORAD ID
- 07530
- Int’l designator
- 1974-089B
- Launched
- 1974
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.
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