Satgen 134  OSCAR AND OTHER SATELLITE NAMES ?  by GM4IHJ      20th Oct 91

There is a lot of confusion about satellite names used with Keplerian
elements and, when referred to by Amsat , IARU etc as in the recent BADR
and SARA examples.
The people who produce our satellite information (NASA/NORAD) are doing it
to get a clear picture of what is up in space, NOT TO GIVE US A SERVICE.
So the first reference they use is their catalogue number Eg Uosat3 Oscar
14 is 20437U . The next number they use is made up from the year of launch
90 ,the chronological launch number that year 5 and a letter in this case
B showing that Uosat3 was the second object released by that launch . All
other names numbers etc are private choice and have no validity and are
rarely copyright. The University of Surrey can call its satellites Uosat
1, 2 , 3 etc. The Russians can call their Navsats Glosnav, and just to
show there is nothing in these names , please note that Amsat have their
OSCARs Orbiting Satellites Carrying Amateur Radio, while the US Navy have
their Oscars which are  On Station Checked And Ready navsats.
Only catalogue numbers and launch numbers are official, so please try to
persuade Keplerian Element suppliers to stick to the format used by NASA.
This names business has recently been further confused by a rash of
statements from none government bodies suggesting that BADR, SARA, HILAT,
and POLAR BEAR are INTRUDERS, ILLEGAL, OSCARS, NOT OSCARS etc. This is
silly. 70cm is not Amateur primary so Hilat and Polar Bear have every
right to be there. 2m is a primary allocation but the 145.8 to 146MHz
section is specifically nominated as " Amateur Satellite Service". Note
,this is not " Amateur Radio Satellite Service". So we must be more
careful how we categorise satellites. SARA for example is licensed by the
French government , not by Amateur Radio, so for Amsat speakers to talk
about banning it is pompous nonsense. Equally noteworthy SARA is an
exciting example of Amateur "Radio Astronomy" which the French government
suggest is entitled to use, a band government designated, and licensed,
for "Amateur Satellite Service". So we must be careful how we use these
names and we must not lead people to think we have authority in these
areas, when we do not (Eg Oscars),or we may find ourselves using satellite
funds to pay off libel suits, instead of building satellites.

Uosat3/5 software. I use PBG version 5/09/91, for IBM PCs, but GM4JJJ uses
the PE1CHL.NET software which has versions for both the IBM and ATARI ST,
STE, and MEGA micros. This has all the features of the Amsat IBM software
and like that package it has to be configured for UO3 and UO5 by the user.
You get it from G1PLT Brionys Patch,13 Altona Rd,Loudwater,High Wycombe,
HP10 9RW Send 2 blank 3.5 inch discs a return mailer and plenty of postage
and specify whether you want it for Atari or IBM. I have just had an
interesting time using this software (IBM version) prior to writing it up
as an update to the Uosat Operating manual, while David JJJ was using his
PE1CHL.NET. Both programs come out of the test very well. The only flaw I
see at the moment is that many Radio Amateurs may find the task of
configuring the software before they use it, rather daunting. So I have
written this (IBM version) into the operating manual software notes.
73 de John GM4IHJ @ GB7SAN