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Carnarvon Tracking Station

The Carnarvon Tracking Station was an Earth tracking station in Australia, located 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) south of Carnarvon, Western Australia. It operated from 1963 until 1975, during which it supported the Gemini, Apollo and Skylab space programs.

Carnarvon Tracking Station
Carnarvon NASA tracking station.
Location(s)Western Australia, AUS
Coordinates24°54′15″S 113°43′16″E / 24.9042°S 113.721°E / -24.9042; 113.721
OrganizationNASA
Radio Australia 
Telescope styleground station 
Location of Carnarvon Tracking Station
  Related media on Commons

History edit

The station was built in 1963 for use by NASA for the Gemini program, the second step for NASA's plan to put a human on the Moon. It replaced the Muchea Tracking Station and used some of the equipment from Project Mercury.

The station also included an FPQ-6 precision tracking radar, a Spacecraft Tracking and Data Acquisition Network (STADAN) scientific satellite tracking facility, a planet Jupiter monitoring system, and a Solar Particle Alert Network (SPAN) facility. Together, these facilities formed the largest station in the NASA network outside mainland USA.

After the conclusion of the Gemini program, the Tracking Station provided extensive support for the Project Apollo missions to the Moon. Because of Carnarvon's unique geographical position, it was used to uplink the trans-lunar injection command to the Apollo spacecraft and was the prime link for the last hours of re-entry to Earth.

To enhance critical communications between the station and the Houston Control Centre, NASA funded the establishment of the nearby OTC Satellite Earth Station Carnarvon in 1966.[1]

After Project Apollo finished, the Tracking Station was used to support the Skylab project. When that project finished, the station ceased routine operations immediately after an Atmosphere Explorer-C satellite pass on 4 October 1974, but sufficient capability was retained for one final mission − the trans-solar insertion of Helios-A on 10 December 1974. The final closure of the gates, and the exodus of the last five staff members, took place on 18 April 1975.

The main building was then used by Radio Australia, which was looking for a home after Cyclone Tracy put its Darwin installation out of commission in December 1974. It closed this facility in June 1996. All tracking station equipment was removed and/or buried, and all buildings, with the exception of one small one now used by Telstra, were razed. Only the foundations of what is a historical site remain.[2][better source needed]

Solar scientific research, originally carried out at the Carnarvon Tracking Station, is now carried out on the adjacent OTC Satellite Earth Station site, which hosts a node of the Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network.

Engineering heritage award edit

The station received an Engineering Heritage International Marker from Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.[3]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "History". The Canberra Times. Vol. 67, no. 21, 018. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 29 October 1992. p. 16. Retrieved 2 August 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ per Terence Kierans, ex-Operations Supervisor and Paul Dench, ex-Chief Engineer and contractor Company Manager
  3. ^ "NASA Space Tracking Station Carnarvon, 1965-". Engineers Australia. Retrieved 3 May 2020.

External links edit

carnarvon, tracking, station, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jsto. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Carnarvon Tracking Station news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Carnarvon Tracking Station was an Earth tracking station in Australia located 10 kilometres 6 2 miles south of Carnarvon Western Australia It operated from 1963 until 1975 during which it supported the Gemini Apollo and Skylab space programs Carnarvon Tracking StationCarnarvon NASA tracking station Location s Western Australia AUSCoordinates24 54 15 S 113 43 16 E 24 9042 S 113 721 E 24 9042 113 721OrganizationNASARadio Australia Telescope styleground station Location of Carnarvon Tracking Station Related media on Commons edit on Wikidata Contents 1 History 2 Engineering heritage award 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory editThe station was built in 1963 for use by NASA for the Gemini program the second step for NASA s plan to put a human on the Moon It replaced the Muchea Tracking Station and used some of the equipment from Project Mercury The station also included an FPQ 6 precision tracking radar a Spacecraft Tracking and Data Acquisition Network STADAN scientific satellite tracking facility a planet Jupiter monitoring system and a Solar Particle Alert Network SPAN facility Together these facilities formed the largest station in the NASA network outside mainland USA After the conclusion of the Gemini program the Tracking Station provided extensive support for the Project Apollo missions to the Moon Because of Carnarvon s unique geographical position it was used to uplink the trans lunar injection command to the Apollo spacecraft and was the prime link for the last hours of re entry to Earth To enhance critical communications between the station and the Houston Control Centre NASA funded the establishment of the nearby OTC Satellite Earth Station Carnarvon in 1966 1 After Project Apollo finished the Tracking Station was used to support the Skylab project When that project finished the station ceased routine operations immediately after an Atmosphere Explorer C satellite pass on 4 October 1974 but sufficient capability was retained for one final mission the trans solar insertion of Helios A on 10 December 1974 The final closure of the gates and the exodus of the last five staff members took place on 18 April 1975 The main building was then used by Radio Australia which was looking for a home after Cyclone Tracy put its Darwin installation out of commission in December 1974 It closed this facility in June 1996 All tracking station equipment was removed and or buried and all buildings with the exception of one small one now used by Telstra were razed Only the foundations of what is a historical site remain 2 better source needed Solar scientific research originally carried out at the Carnarvon Tracking Station is now carried out on the adjacent OTC Satellite Earth Station site which hosts a node of the Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network Engineering heritage award editThe station received an Engineering Heritage International Marker from Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program 3 See also editHoneysuckle Creek Tracking Station Orroral Valley Tracking Station Canberra Deep Space Communication ComplexReferences edit History The Canberra Times Vol 67 no 21 018 Australian Capital Territory Australia 29 October 1992 p 16 Retrieved 2 August 2016 via National Library of Australia per Terence Kierans ex Operations Supervisor and Paul Dench ex Chief Engineer and contractor Company Manager NASA Space Tracking Station Carnarvon 1965 Engineers Australia Retrieved 3 May 2020 External links edithttp www carnarvonmuseum org au Website https web archive org web 20130814000732 http www cdscc nasa gov Pages history html Website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Carnarvon Tracking Station amp oldid 1051054328, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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