Key FPQ-6 Mission Activity

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	A full catalogue of Carnarvon FPQ-6 tracking would be a potted history of US space exploration - post Mercury. The following group examples pinpoint highlights of Carnarvon’s radar activity in order of the first track in each group.		A full catalogue of Carnarvon FPQ-6 tracking would be a potted history of US space exploration - post Mercury. The following group examples pinpoint highlights of Carnarvon’s radar activity in order of the first track in each group.

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Revision as of 06:34, 19 February 2007

A full catalogue of Carnarvon FPQ-6 tracking would be a potted history of US space exploration - post Mercury. The following group examples pinpoint highlights of Carnarvon’s radar activity in order of the first track in each group.

Communications satellites

Echo-2, a rigidized 30.5m passive communications sphere, launched on 25 January 1964 was the first object in space tracked by Carnarvon. It was followed soon after on 19 August by Syncom-3, the first truly synchronous communications satellite.

 

Three communications satellites vital to NASA’s communications with its remote tracking stations followed. Intelsat-2A failed to reach a synchronous orbit but, before it decayed, managed to relay the first few minutes of the first TV transmission from Carnarvon to England on 26 October 1966 - Down Under Comes Up Live. Intelsat-2B followed on 11 January 1967 to become Pacific-1 – Carnarvon’s communications satellite link to the US. Intelsat-2C on 23 March 1967 became Atlantic-1.

 

SKYNET-1A, a UK military communications satellite, was successfully placed in synchronous orbit over the Indian Ocean on 22 November 1969. SKYNET-1B on 19 August 1970 failed due to a faulty apogee motor and SKYNET-2A launched in January 1974 became lost and shortly after was discovered in a lower Earth orbit by Carnarvon from which it could not be rescued.

 

Telesat-A, a Canadian domestic communications satellite launched on 9 November 1972, failed to reach the correct orbit; nevertheless, Carnarvon, acquiring it a little behind schedule, was able to generate new tracking parameters to enable successful acquisitions by both Hawaii and Bermuda. The satellite subsequently established a successful synchronous orbit.

 

By mid 1997, 535 domestic communications satellites had been launched. About 50 of these were supported by Carnarvon before its FPQ-6 ceased tracking in mid-1975

Apollo/Saturn 

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Ranger 

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Gemini/Agena 

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Pioneer 

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Surveyor 

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Lunar Orbiter 

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WRESAT 

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OV series 

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Skylab 

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AE-C 

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