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Satellite Celebrates 20 Years Working in Orbit

lloydwood writes "The UoSAT-2/UO-11 small satellite was launched into low Earth orbit on 1 March 1984 from Vandenberg Air Force Base. Twenty years later, it's still in orbit and operational -- and we recently found launch footage. To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of starting in orbit, the original video celebrating the UoSAT-2 launch is available (in windows media and mpeg). Thrill to the computers, the clothes, and the haircuts of 1984. SSTL has launched more than twenty satellites since."

5 of 199 comments (clear)

  1. Re:I bet... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Actually, NASA had it's own operating system called PLEK-SLC for satelites back then.

  2. TORRENT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Torren of the WMV file HERE.

    This service brought to your courtesy of Soup, Bread, Linux.

  3. Mirror by patdabiker · · Score: 5, Informative

    I posted a mirror of the video here.

  4. Re:I bet.....and you lose by Captain+Sensible · · Score: 5, Informative

    UoSat is not a NASA satellite. It was built and is controlled by the University of Surrey (england to the geographically challenged). It carries ham radio gear and a store-and-forward repeater for NGOs in third world nations.

  5. Just to clarify... by Rico_za · · Score: 5, Informative

    UoSAT-2 was not a Nasa mission. It was built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd in Guildford, a University town just west of London. We've grown quite a bit since then. We specialize in building small satellites (think 100 kgs, not 1000's of kgs). It's a different way of doing things to the way NASA and ESA usually does, but it's catching on.