OSCAR
OSCAR = Orbital Satellites for Communications by Amateur Radio.
The international AMSAT organization coordinates Radio Amateurs as volunteers to design and build the OSCAR series of radio ham satellites.
The OSCAR program has been highly successful. Several OSCAR satellites have been launched as stand-by payloads on commercial or government launch vehicles.
Under international treaties, they are allowed to use radio frequencies reserved for licensed radio amateurs.
Web site: AMSAT Web Site.