Key FPQ-6 Mission Activity
- Antenna structure
- Tracking and Ranging
- Brief system details
- RCA Computer
- Key Q6 Mission Activity
- Research activity
- BDA, CRO & RCA: Q6 partners
- Other Q-6 tales
Back to Station Equipment
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.
- 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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