At that time the public learned that the satellite had remained intermittently functional and was used surreptitiously for communication by the anticommunist opposition Fighting Solidarity during martial law in Poland.

The satellite eclipses on every orbit during the northern summer and autumn; the rest of the year it is in continuous sunlight and alternates between transmission modes A and B.

Four radio masts mounted at 90 degree intervals on the base of the satellite and two experimental repeater systems provided store-and-forward for Morse code and teletype messages ("codestore") as it orbited around the world.

The Mode-B transponder was the first using “HELAPS” (High Efficient Linear Amplification by Parametric Synthesis) technology was developed by Dr. Karl Meinzer as part of his Ph.D. research.

The decoder has provisions for 35 separate functions, and is designed to provide a reliable means of controlling the emissions of the repeaters, beacons and other experiments aboard the spacecraft.

Satellite communication was invaluable at that time, as the regular telephone network was tapped by the government and shut down when martial law was imposed in December 1981.