| Australis-OSCAR 5 | |
| Names List: | AO-5 |
| Cospar Id: | 1970-008B |
| Satcat: | 04321 |
| Spacecraft Bus: | AMSAT |
| Manufacturer: | University of Melbourne |
| Launch Date: | 23 January 1970, 11:31:02 UTC |
| Launch Rocket: | Delta N6 (Delta D76) |
| Launch Site: | Vandenberg, SLC-2W |
| Launch Contractor: | Douglas Aircraft Company |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric orbit |
| Orbit Regime: | Low Earth orbit |
| Orbit Periapsis: | 1432 km [1] |
| Orbit Apoapsis: | 1478 km |
| Orbit Inclination: | 102.04° |
| Orbit Period: | 115 minutes |
| Apsis: | gee |
| Programme: | AMSAT-OSCAR program |
| Previous Mission: | OSCAR 4 |
| Next Mission: | AMSAT-OSCAR 6 |
Australis-OSCAR 5 (a.k.a. AO-5) is an amateur radio satellite that was launched into Low Earth Orbit on 23 January 1970 by a Thor Delta launcher from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Lompoc, California. AO-5 was launched piggyback with TIROS-M (ITOS-1) weather satellite).[2]
Built by students at The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Battery powered, Australis-OSCAR 5 transmitted telemetry on both 2 meter (144.050 MHz at 50 mW) and 10 meter (29.450 MHz at 250 mW) bands that operated for 23 and 46 days respectively. Passive magnetic attitude stabilization was performed by carrying two bar magnets to align with the Earth's magnetic field in order to provide a favorable antenna footprint. The University of Melbourne compiled tracking reports from hundreds of stations in 27 countries.