That’s an Operating System and Satellite

Over the years we’ve got used to having flakey operating systems on our PCs. We accept that every few days it will hang up and we’ll have to reset it.

An email from Gould, WA4SXM reminds us that it doesn’t need to be that way. Back in the late 1980’s the designers of the AMSAT Microsats created an operating system that just runs and runs. AO-16 has been in orbit almost 16 years and its 5.8 years since the operating system was last reset – quite an achievement!

73 Trevor M5AKA

That’s an Operating System & Satellite

As I was walking into the shack this evening, WiSP announced that AO-16 was rising.

After a couple of switch throws, a cable change and a mad search for the pre-amp power cable - the drone of AO-16 began to resonate.

Watching the data display in the WiSP screen I was impressed with the numbers I saw.

P:0x1D00 o:0 l:6654 f:7171, d:1 st:1
PHT: uptime is 2139/19:03:09. Time is Thu Dec 22 22:54:15 2005

The uptime message says that the OS has been running continually for 2139 days and 19 hours.

Doing a little quick math, AO-16 has been operating over 5.8 years without resetting.

That is a reliable OS and satellite.
Kudos to the AMSAT Microsat team of 1990!

73,
Gould, WA4SXM

For further information on AO-16 see
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sats/n7hpr/ao16.html

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