Happy Birthday to AO-7! Launched on 11/15/1974 from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Continued congratulations to all those involved in the design, building, launch, and operations of this satellite. It's an amazing achievement that, other than the batteries, most of the circuitry continues to function normally 39 years after launch. Here's to hopefully many more years of service to the amateur community!
For more information about the lead-up to and the launch of AO-7, as well as the first years of operation, see the 1974-1981 AMSAT Newsletters on KA9Q's website:
http://www.ka9q.net/AMSAT-Newsletter-1974.pdf
http://www.ka9q.net/newsletters.html
N4HY has a wonderful gallery of photos from the construction and launch of AO-7 on his Smugmug page:
http://n4hy.smugmug.com/AMSAT/AMSAT-Oscar-7
73,
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM Washington, DC (FM18)