Fox-1Cliff, AO-95 or AMSAT OSCAR 95 is an American amateur radio satellite. Fox-1Cliff is a 1U CubeSat built by AMSAT-NA that carries a single-channel transponder for mode U/V in FM.[1]
| Mission type | Communications |
|---|---|
| Operator | AMSAT |
| COSPAR ID | 2018-099N |
| SATCAT no. | 43770 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Launch mass | 1.3 kg (2.9 lb) |
| Dimensions | 10 cm × 10 cm × 10 cm (3.9 in × 3.9 in × 3.9 in) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 3 December 2018, 13:34 UTC |
| Rocket | Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) |
| Launch site | Vandenberg SLC-4E |
| Contractor | SpaceX |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Semi-major axis | 6,960 kilometres (4,320 mi) |
| Eccentricity | 0.0013176 |
| Perigee altitude | 580.6 kilometres (360.8 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 599 kilometres (372 mi) |
| Inclination | 97.7217° |
| Period | 96.3 minutes |
| RAAN | 108.0793° |
| Argument of perigee | 289.6601° |
| Mean motion | 14.94902621 |
| Epoch | 3 February 2020 |
The satellite carries several student experiments:[2]
- Vanderbilt University Low Energy Proton (LEP) radiation experiment (flight spare from Fox-1A)
- Penn State University Erie gyroscope experiment
It also carries a VGA camera provided by Virginia Tech.
Mission
edit
Fox-1Cliff was launched on 3 December, 2018 via Falcon 9 Block 5 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, United States.[3]
Receiver failure
editShortly after deployment, AO-95's receiver suffered a failure due to unknown reasons.[4]
Name
editThe satellite is the third of five Fox-1 satellites, and was originally named Fox-1C. In 2016, it was renamed Fox-1Cliff in honor of Cliff Buttschardt, a long time member of AMSAT and a contributor to the project, who died earlier that year.[5] After its launch, Fox-1Cliff was renamed AO-95.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "IARU Sat Coordinator". www.amsatuk.me.uk. Retrieved 2018-12-17.
- ^ "Fox-1Cliff Ready for Launch". AMSAT. 30 September 2018.
- ^ "AMSAT's Fox-1Cliff Amateur Radio CubeSat Launched Successfully". www.arrl.org. Retrieved 2018-12-17.
- ^ "Fox-1Cliff/AO-95 Receiver Suffers Apparent Failure". www.arrl.org. Retrieved 2018-12-17.
- ^ "Fox-1Cliff Designated AMSAT-OSCAR 95 (AO-95) – AMSAT". 14 December 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-17.