On: OSCAR 1

If you think to you might enjoy messing around with satellites, ham radio is pretty easy to get into these days. This is especially true for VHF/UHF, which is what amateur satellites use, and only requires the Technician license.

For equipment you just need a handheld VHF/UHF radio (as cheap as $25 for a Baofeng http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-UV-5R-Dual-Radio-Black/dp/B007... but I'd recommend a Yaesu, Kenwood, or Icom if you can afford it) and a simple yagi antenna (Google "tape measure yagi", or something like this if you don't want to DIY: http://www.arrowantennas.com/arrowii/146-437.html)

http://www.amsat.org/

http://www.heavens-above.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0CWz4Emyro

https://hamstudy.org/

Here's a good example of someone "working" a popular amateur radio satellite, SO-50: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhBs5DlKaVU