SB SPACE @ ARL $ARLS015
ARLS015 UO-14 Satellite Declared Dead

ZCZC AS15  
QST de W1AW  
Space Bulletin 015  ARLS015
From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington, CT  November 13, 2003
To all radio amateurs

SB SPACE ARL ARLS015
ARLS015 UO-14 Satellite Declared Dead

The UO-14 satellite has been declared officially dead after nearly
14 years in orbit, the Mission Control Centre at the Surrey
Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) Center for Satellite Engineering
Research reported November 11.

AMSAT-UK Chairman Martin Sweeting, G3YJO, said one of the NiCad
battery cells became exhausted, which caused UO-14's transmitter to
shut down due to undervoltage.

The popular and heavily used FM satellite quit working in August.
Ground controller Chris Jackson, G7UPN, was able to reset the
satellite at one time, but he later determined that UO-14 had
suffered a primary power system failure.

Launched in 1990, UoSAT-OSCAR-14 pioneered the PACSAT communication
concept as the first 9.6 kbps Amateur Radio data communications
satellite. It became best known in recent years as an FM "easy sat"
repeater. UO-14 completed over 72,000 orbits.

The loss of UO-14 leaves amateurs with SO-41 and SO-50 as the only
two LEO FM voice satellites now in operation, although the planned
2004 launches of the OSCAR-ECHO and VUSAT could help fill in the
void. ECHO is planned for launch next March 31.
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