What did we achieve?  Well, it is worthwhile recording with pride the firsts that we achieved with AO5:

• First Australian built satellite. (WRESat was built after AO5 but flown before.)
• First non-US amateur satellite.
• First amateur satellite launched by NASA.
• First satellite, along with Tiros M, to be launched by the then new Delta N rocket.
• First 10 metre HF transmitter flown on an amateur satellite.
• First telemetry system flown on an amateur satellite.
• First command system flown on an amateur satellite.
• First "PMASS" magnetic stabilisation and orientation system to stabilise and orient a satellite. There have been about 40 subsequent systems flown.
• First use of "Standard Orbits" method for predicting passes and for tracking. This was later adopted and improved by NASA for use by US Antarctic expeditions.
• First time that satellite predictions (in this case equator crossings) had been transmitted directly from a computer to users via radio without human intervention.

In addition, AO5 trained two groups, the Australians and the US Amsat group whose achievements have been noted. At the July 23, 2011 reunion, Peter's contribution to Amsat with his command receivers was acknowledged: the Amsat 7 command system continues to operate, along with the RTTY telemetry, after some 30 years since launch, and it is the longest surviving space command system ever.

Following the frenzy of the flight of AO5 and its final signal transmitted in March 1970, we wondered what was next.

Through the years there have been many forays into space matters, especially to encourage the Australian government to institute a space programme - we are one of the very few advanced nations that does not have a space programme.  We had a reunion in 2014 and some of us have given presentations at various symposiums, conferences, etc.  Here's a draft of one such presentation.