AMSAT to Celebrate 50 Years In Space at Annual Space Symposium:

The AMSAT 2011 AMSAT Space Symposium will be held November 4-6 in San Jose, California. This year's Symposium coincides with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of OSCAR 1, the first Amateur Radio satellite. The Symposium will feature presentations on amateur satellites, operating techniques, news and plans from the amateur satellite world, as well as an AMSAT General Meeting and a meeting of AMSAT's Board of Directors.
While the final schedule is still being worked out, AMSAT has announced that Lance Ginner, K6GSJ, will be the speaker at the banquet. Ginner helped build and develop OSCAR 1 and OSCAR 2. His involvement with Amateur Radio spacecraft continued with OSCAR 3, OSCAR 4, OSCAR 5 (the first for the newly formed Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation in 1970), OSCAR 6, OSCAR 7 and OSCAR 8.
ARRL Laboratory Test Engineer Bob Allison, WB1GCM, will also be speaking at the Symposium, accompanied by a prototype of OSCAR 1. With help from Ginner and other AMSAT members, Allison and W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, refurbished the prototype, one of three made by Project OSCAR. One of the satellites went into orbit in 1961, one is on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC and the other, until recently, was sitting in a display case in the downstairs hallway at ARRL Headquarters. Read more here http://www.arrl.org/news/amsat-to-celebrate-50-years-in-space-at-annual-space-symposium.
Source:
The ARRL Letter