GemStar 1 (VITASat 1)

GemStar 1

The CTA GEMStar-I (VITASAT-I) satellite partially sponsored by Volunteers In Technical Assistance (VITA) of Arlington Virginia, was launched at 2230 UTC from Vandenberg AFB on the 15-Aug-95, but a second stage failure destroyed the first flight of the Lockheed LLV-1 launch vehicle (later dubbed Athena).

The 136kg mini-satellite measured 1m in diameter and is 660 mm high. It employs gravity gradient stabilisation, was 3-axis stabillised, and was based on CTA Inc' GemStar bus (CTA refer to the satellite as GemStar 1).

It was intended to be placed into a 650 km orbit, receive 9.6 and 19.2 kbps in the 148-150.5 MHz band, and transmit at 9.6, 19.2 and 38.4 kbps in the 137-137 MHz and 400.15-401 MHz bands.