Sputnik 99

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General

Designation	25685 / 99015C
Launch date	16 Apr 1999 at approx 10:30 UT
Country of origin	CIS
Mission	Technology
Perigee/Apogee	340 km
Inclination	51.7°
Period	91 min
Launch vehicle	none
Launch site	Mir space station

Sputnik 99 is at the center of a controversy over use of the amateur radio band. The satellite was developed by AMSAT-F and AMSAT-R the French and Russian amateur radio satellite groups, with help from the Russian Space Agency's flight control center, TsUP. Apparently TsUP made the mistake of arranging with Swatch, a commercial company for messages to be broadcast from the satellite including a trademarked advertising slogan, a flagrant misuse of the amateur radio band. After numerous protests, it was decided before launch to launch the satellite without its batteries, turning it into a passive piece of junk.

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End of life

Decay

29 Jul 1999

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