AMSAT has now granted OSCAR status to 100 Amateur Radio satellites. The latest, Es’hail-2/P4A — now Qatar-OSCAR 100 (QO-100) —launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in November. It carries the first geosynchronous Amateur Radio payload. Es’hail-2/P4A was developed jointly by the Qatar Amateur Radio Society (QARS) and Es’hailSat (the Qatar Satellite Company), with AMSAT-DL as the technical lead. Now at its final position of 25.9° E and with the narrow and wideband transponders having been successfully tested in December, the transponders are expected to be opened for general use this month. “May the 100th OSCAR satellite be the guide star to future Amateur Radio satellites and payloads to geostationary orbit and beyond,” invoked Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT Director of VP Operations and OSCAR Number Administrator. — Thanks to AMSAT News Service