UO-11
| Operator | University of Surrey |
|---|---|
| COSPAR ID | 1984-021B |
| SATCAT no. | 14781 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | SSTL |
| Launch mass | 60 kilograms (130 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 1 March 1984, 17:59 UTC |
| Rocket | Delta 3920 |
| Launch site | Vandenberg SLC-2W |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Sun-synchronous |
| Inclination | 98.25 degrees |
UoSAT-2, which is also known as UO-11 and OSCAR-11, is a British satellite orbiting in Low Earth Orbit. The satellite functions as an amateur radio transmitter (known as an OSCAR) and was built at the University of Surrey. It launched into orbit in March 1984 and remains orbital and active, though unstable with irregular periods of transmission. All of the Analog telemetry channels have failed, making telemetry from OSCAR 11 useless. The satellite was still heard transmitting telemetry in 2015, thirty years after launch.
It was operated by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL).
The satellite carries a Digitalker speech synthesiser, magnetometers, a CCD camera, a Geiger-Müller tube, and a microphone to detect the vibrations of micrometeoroid impacts. Like UoSAT-1 it transmits telemetry data on the VHF beacon at 1200 baud, using asynchronous AFSK, though now all analogue telemetry channels have failed; on an FM receiver the audio signal resembles the cassette data format of the contemporary BBC Micro computer. Actually it is a BASICODE signal, but no citation. Slight modulation had also been observed on the S band beacon.
UoSAT-2's solar arrays were bought at a premium compared to those of UoSAT-1, the design having been space tested by its predecessor.
The British affiliate of AMSAT distributed a library of software for the BBC Micro to track UoSAT-2 and other satellites and analyse telemetry broadcasts. A commercial fixed-frequency receiver, Astrid, was also produced by British firm MM Microwave for the education market, with accompanying BBC Micro software to display raw telemetry frames. For versatility the Astrid set included a demodulator to load signals through the serial port of any computer.
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