OTC Satellite Earth Station Carnarvon facts for kids
The OTC Satellite Earth Station Carnarvon was a very important communication station in Australia. It was built to help with the Apollo program, which was NASA's mission to send humans to the Moon. NASA asked Australia's Overseas Telecommunications Commission (OTC) to build this station near Carnarvon, Western Australia. Its job was to connect the Carnarvon Tracking Station to the control center in the USA. This helped make sure astronauts could talk to Earth and send back information.
Helping NASA and TV Broadcasts
The unique "sugar scoop" antenna started working on October 29, 1966. It was used to test satellite TV broadcasts from Australia to England. On November 25, 1966, a live TV show from London connected British families with their relatives living in Carnarvon. This was a very exciting moment!
The "sugar scoop" antenna became famous again on July 21, 1969. This was the day of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. It helped relay Neil Armstrong's first steps on the Moon. The signals came from NASA's Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station near Canberra. They were then sent to Perth's TV audience. This was the first live TV broadcast into Western Australia.
The Carnarvon OTC station helped the Carnarvon Tracking Station for eight years. This support began on February 4, 1967. A bigger dish antenna was added in late 1969. This helped with the later Apollo missions. OTC kept helping NASA's space programs until the NASA station closed in 1975. After that, the OTC station tracked some NASA missions on its own.
Other Space Missions Supported
Even after the Apollo program, the Carnarvon station helped with many other space missions. Some of these included:
- Controlling the European Space Agency (ESA) Giotto mission. This probe flew past Halley's Comet and collected samples.
- Helping launch missions for the ESA and India's first satellite.
- Tracking German TV and communication satellites.
- Helping to launch and position the Meteorsat satellite for Africa.
- Guiding the Marecs communication satellite.
- Monitoring the launch of a Japanese satellite called MOS-1 in 1987.
Closing Down and New Life
The station stopped its main operations in April 1987. However, the site is still used for scientific research today. It is part of the Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network. This network studies the Sun.
The "OTC Satellite Earth Station Carnarvon (fmr)" is now a protected heritage site. It is important for its local, national, and international history.
The Carnarvon Space and Technology Museum opened in 2012. You can visit it to learn more about this amazing place!
- Information courtesy Paul Dench, ex Chief Engineer and contractor Company Manager of the Carnarvon Tracking Station
