Carnarvon A Vital Link - OTC Earth Station
Information Video produced for the OTC Satelite Earth Station in Carnarvon Western Australia. First Released 28th Of August 1985. Produced By Shennan Productions.
The 'sugar scoop' antenna became operational on 29 October 1966 when Intelsat-2A, the first of the three satellites launched, gave OTC and the ABC a brief chance to test satellite TV communications as the satellite drifted to ignominious failure over the Indian Ocean. On 24 November 1966, test patterns for the first-ever live telecasts from Australia to England were successful. The next day, a live BBC television broadcast from a studio in London featured interviews linking UK families with their British migrant relatives standing in Robinson Street, Carnarvon.
This video highlights some of the projects OTC Carnarvon was involved with and how it had become an intricate of Carnarvon. This video also mentions the winding down of operations as the OTC station closed in 1987. The site is still 'actively' involved in solar scientific research, hosting a node of the Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network.
The Carnarvon Space and Technology Museum opened in 2012.
Special Thanks to
Max Ring at QC Technologies -
Irene Gray of Carnarvon
Phil Youd - Chairman - Carnarvon Space And Technology Museum
Video first appeared on 3/4 inch U-Matic then copied to VHS and this copy was copied from the VHS copy to Hi8, from Hi8 to Adobe After Effects for restoration.
Carnarvon Space and Technology Museum
The Carnarvon Space and Technology Museum celebrates the little known history of the vital role Carnarvon played in getting rocket ships to outer space and back to Earth Safely.
The museum focuses on two parts. The Carnarvon Tracking Station and the OTC Satellite Earth Station, for which each station played separate roles in the early space industry.
This segment was featured on Destination WA.
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Building NASA Carnarvon Tracking Station in Australia, 1963
The Carnarvon Tracking Station in Western Australia was a tracking station 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 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, Carnarvon Tracking Station provided extensive support for the Project Apollo missions to the Moon. By reason of Carnarvon's unique geographical position it was used to uplink the Trans-lunar injection (TLI) command to the Apollo spacecraft and was prime for the last hours of re-entry to Earth.
To enhance critical communications between the station and the Houston Control Centre, NASA funded the nearby OTC Satellite Earth Station Carnarvon in 1966.
After Project Apollo finished, the Carnarvon Tracking Station continued with the Skylab project. When Skylab finished the station ceased routine operations immediately after an AE-C pass on Friday, 4 October 1974 but retained sufficient capability for one final mission - the trans-solar insertion of Helios-A on 10 December 1974. The final closure of the gates and exodus of the last five staff members took place on 18 April 1975.
The main building was then used by Radio Australia, who were looking for a home after Cyclone Tracy put their Darwin installation out of commission. They 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.[1]
Solar scientific research, originally carried out at the Carnarvon Tracking Station, is now carried out on the adjacent OTC Satellite Earth Station Carnarvon site, which hosts a node of the Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network.
More:
OTC Satellite Earth Station Carnarvon | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:00:40 1 TV and NASA-assist operations
00:02:36 2 Contract tracking operations
00:03:38 3 Decommission
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
Listen on Google Assistant through Extra Audio:
Other Wikipedia audio articles at:
Upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
Speaking Rate: 0.803812316185314
Voice name: en-GB-Wavenet-A
I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
The OTC Satellite Earth Station Carnarvon, an Earth station in Australia was established to meet the need for more reliable and higher quality communications for NASA's Apollo Moon project. NASA contracted Australia's Overseas Telecommunications Commission (OTC) to provide an earth station near Carnarvon, Western Australia to link the NASA tracking station in that area to the control centre in the USA, also contracting the COMSAT Corporation to launch three Intelsat-2 communications satellites.
Buzz in Carnarvon
Apollo 11 Luna Module pilot Buzz Aldrin visited Carnarvon, North of Perth, Australia from June 22nd to 23rd, 2012 for a two-day program called To the Moon and Back Festival where he officially opened the Carnarvon Space and Technology Museum.
This video is an amalgamation of News footage shot by Perth's television stations: Seven, Nine and TEN. With Natalia Cooper reporting for Seven, Peter Kapsanis for Nine and Nick Way for Channel TEN.
WA helped put a Man on the Moon
Perth Western Australia's first television News Editor Darcy Farrell explains the role our State played in putting a man on the moon.
TVW was then the only commercial TV station in Perth, and during the 1960s, many big news stories broke... none bigger than Apollo 11, in which the astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first ever to land on the Moon on July 20, 1969.
The Command Module Pilot Michael Collins stayed aloft orbiting the moon.
Western Australian earth stations played an important role.
Now the Carnarvon Space and Technology Museum celebrates the little known history of the role Carnarvon played in the manned space program and in the the Australian communications industry.
The museum focusses on two parts. The Carnarvon Tracking Station and the OTC Satellite Earth Station, for which each station played separate roles in the early space industry.
Earlier, the Muchea Tracking Station played an important role between 1960 and 1964, supporting the Mercury space missions, which paved the way for Project Gemini, the second human spaceflight program of NASA. These were conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, with ten manned flights occurring in 1965 and 1966.
The Apollo missions landed the first humans on Earth's Moon.
NASA Carnarvon Tracking Station Welcome Film in Western Australia, 1963
The Carnarvon Tracking Station in Western Australia was a tracking station 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 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.
More:
American Tracking Station In Australia (1964)
Carnarvon, Western Australia.
Title reads 'Minister for Supply Opens Tracking Station'.
LS. New American tracking station in a desolate part of Australia. Various shots of the large differently shaped aerials used for satellite tracking. Various shots of opening ceremony of the tracking station by Western Australia's Premier Brand and Federal Minister for Supply, Mr Fairhall. CU. Opening plaque. Various shots of more aerials.
(Comb.F.G.)
Date found in the old record - 02/07/1964.
FILM ID:2681.02
A VIDEO FROM BRITISH PATHÉ. EXPLORE OUR ONLINE CHANNEL, BRITISH PATHÉ TV. IT'S FULL OF GREAT DOCUMENTARIES, FASCINATING INTERVIEWS, AND CLASSIC MOVIES.
FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES VISIT
British Pathé also represents the Reuters historical collection, which includes more than 136,000 items from the news agencies Gaumont Graphic (1910-1932), Empire News Bulletin (1926-1930), British Paramount (1931-1957), and Gaumont British (1934-1959), as well as Visnews content from 1957 to the end of 1984. All footage can be viewed on the British Pathé website.
First Australia to UK Satellite Hook-up in 1966
The world's second planned commercial communication satellite Intelsat II F-1 was launched October 26, 1966, but failed to achieve geosynchronous orbit. Despite its nonsynchronous orbit, the satellite was used briefly to transmit live television and other communications traffic.
Before the satellite was out of range, an agreement was secured by Australia to allow our television stations to use the doomed satellite for a direct broadcast to Britain, before it drifting away over the Indian Ocean.
At short notice, a large contingent of ABC engineers, technicians with an EMI equipped Bedford outside broadcast van, link truck and support vehicles were driven the 900km from ABW Channel 2 in Perth to Carnarvon.
For up to twenty minutes, a one-way television link was set up between Carnarvon and the Goonhilly Down Earth Station in the UK. The highlight was a direct telecast between the ABC and BBC which reunited British immigrants living in Carnarvon with their relatives who had been brought into the BBC studios.
Camping at Coral Bay Western Australia
Jesse, Sophie and the kids went camping at Coral bay, Shark Bay, and Carnarvon. They went to Steep point thunderbay blowholes, Carnarvon Blowholes and Hamlin Pool along the way, they also got to camp under the OTC Satellite earth station in Carnarvon. (thanks to the local ranger).
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Carnarvons Technology, Space and Research Earth Stations Lunar Landings monitored from rights here19
I'm in Carnarvon WA and I wanted to share and promote with viewers the incredible amount of Space, research and technology that is available for everyone to look and learn from. These original sites are still around.. in particular the very large OTC dish that stands apart. Give me a thumbs up on this, and in addition to this Carnarvon has many great lifestyle qualities that you can enjoy.
I captured this in May 2018 and used,
Camera Canon 77D with 18mm - 135mm
NASA - CARNARVON WELCOME lost NASA film 1960s
Exclusive Never before seen NASA footage. Lost film, not seen since 1964. This film, made by NASA, welcomes Carnarvon in Western Australia to the space program and the network of tracking stations which would be used for the Gemini and Apollo Missions.
This may be the only copy of this film in existence.
Presented by Edmond C Buckley, (1904-1977) American engineer. Instrumentation and tracking expert at NASA, 1930 - 1969. Senior NASA official for tracking operations during the moon race, 1959-1969 and James Edwin Webb administrator of NASA from February 14, 1961 to October 7, 1968. Then Dr. Harry J. Goett, first Director of the Goddard Space Flight Center, brings in greetings from various tracking stations around the world.
This film is further evidence that the NASA Carnarvon Tracking Station in Western Australia was more involved in the Apollo Missions than previously thought.
The copying of this film to HD format, was sponsored by Max Ring from QC Technologies in Perth, Western Australia.
This footage is in need of full restoration if you can help, contact us. max@qctechnologies.com.au
To learn more about Carnarvon's involvement in the space program, and about the new CARNARVON Space and Technology Museum - visit
Very Special Thanks To Gavin Mason, former Manager of the Carnarvon Tourist Centre, for without his help, we would have never known or seen this film.
This film was supplied by Gavin Mason
Special thanks to Brian Larwood
brian@brianlarwood.com
Very Special Thanks to DiskBank Digital Media Specialists for a great conversion to HD MP4 format.
sales@diskbank.com.au
Isolation Gone Forever - Telecom Australia 1985 (Telstra)
WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that the following program may contain images and voices of deceased persons.
This is a Documentary made by Telecom Australia (Telstra) in 1985 about the introduction of Automatic Telephone Services to the Daly River Region of the Northern Territory - Australia. Telecom Australia Developed Digital Radio Concentrator System was the Second of many systems installed around Australia as part of the Rural and Remote Areas Project (RRAP). The System Head end was located at the Katherine Exchange, and was later extended to Port Keats. The DRCS was later replaced by the High Capacity Radio Concentrator System (HCRCS).
Time Person Location
1:06 Nonie Morris Woolianna Tourist Park
3:08 Woolianna Aboriginals - Malak Malak
4:06 Joy Skewes
5:46 Woolianna Aboriginals - Malak Malak
9:17 Nonie Morris VJY
9:36 VJY Switchboard VJY
10:30 Pat Martin (VJY) VJY
10:59 Not Chris Dorey (Telecom) Wooliana Phone Selection
11:34 Bill Morris
12:00 Daly River
12:27 Pooch & Donk ?
13:11 Mango Farm
13:34 Murray Brown Mango Farm
14:06 VJY Mango Farm
14:45 Elizabeth Downs
15:22 Tantelite Mine
16:30 John Polishuk
18:33 Daly River Store
19:24 Telecom Technology
20:03 John Burton (Telecom Engineer)
20:44 Steve Jones (Telecom) Katherine Exchange
23:00 Aldrige Richardson and Pat Elizabeth Downs
23:28 Pat Martin (VJY) VJY
23:53 Mrs Polishuk
24:26 Woolianna Aboriginals - Malak Malak
25:18 Reg Williams (Telecom)
25:31 Telecom Path Survey Crew
26:22 Telecom Site Survery
26:43 Telecom Path Survey Crew - Woolianna
27:20 Weather
28:01 Elizabeth Downs - Pour
29:39 Wayne Mitchell (Pioneer Concrete)
30:06 Daly River Flooding
30:52 Nonie Morris Daly River Flooding
33:22 Geoff Holmes (Constable NT Police) Daly River Flooding / Communications
34:16 Joy Skewes Daly River Flooding
35:10 Nonie Morris Daly River Flooding
37:54 Alfie Salzgeber Daly River Flooding
39:43 Work Resumes after Wet Season
40:25 Vehicles Bogged
40:32 Tracey Trimbey (RIP) (Telecom) Vehicles Bogged
40:52 Charlie Dowey (Telecom) - RIP Vehicles Bogged
41:29 Pooch (Telecom) Site Build
41:42 Mick Silo (RIP)
41:50 Mounty (Telecom) -RIP Site Build
42:07 Tantellite Mine
42:27 Dash Ranasinghe (Telecom) Tantellite Mine
42:34 Wayne (Speed) Rogan (Telecom) Tantellite Mine
42:45 Dash Ranasinghe (Telecom) Tantellite Mine
42:55 Tommy Skewes Tantellite Mine
43:39 Work Resumes - Elizabeth Downs
44:42 Ray Hunter (Telecom)
45:12 Charlie Dowey (Telecom) & Vic Morrison (Telecom) Work Resumes - Elizabeth Downs
46:09 Mt Nancar
46:47 Mal Stewart (Telecom) Mt Nancar
46:53 Terry Mansfield (Telecom) Mt Nancar
47:17 Dash Ranasinghe (Telecom) Mt Nancar
48:42 Solar Installations
49:38 Steve Jones (Telecom) Katherine Exchange
50:03 Mal Stewart (Telecom) Robb Ridge - First Call
50:35 Nonie Morris First Call from Woolianna
53:19 Doug Taylor The Phone comes to Daly River
53:30 John Polishuk The Phone comes to Daly River
54:07 Murray Brown The Phone comes to Daly River
54:14 Pat Richardson The Phone comes to Daly River
55:15 Tommy Skewes The Phone comes to Daly River
55:30 Joy Skewes The Phone comes to Daly River
55:45 Telecom DRCS Systems
57:01 Credits Credits
Miles from nowhere, a phone call from the world
In the 1970s, Telecom Australia made a commitment to provide customers in rural and remote areas of Australia with a reliable telephone service. At the time, people in the outback and remote areas either did not have a telephone service, or used any of the 10,000 private lines, often made from fencing wire, bottle tops and hand-cranked magnetos.
At the heart of the program was the digital radio concentrator system (DRCS), developed by Telecom Research Labs (TRL) especially for Australia's sparsely settled land mass as a much cheaper alternative to a proposed satellite service. The system was based on the use of radio signals, beamed in concentrated bursts, to link customers to the nearest automatic exchange where calls were slotted into the national trunk network. Up to 13 repeaters were used in a single DRCS line, allowing a maximum distance of 600 km between exchange and subscriber. The mast, solar panels and radio transceiver used by customers of the service has become a symbol for modern telecommunications in the outback.
To increase system capacity, Telstra introduced a new generation of High Capacity Radio Concentrator Systems (HCRCS) for supporting Microlink (ISDN) services to rural areas. Apart from connecting the outback to the rest of the world, the HCRCS has provided thousands of new telephone services to remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait islands communities.
NASA tracking tower toppled
The film shows the demolition of a 100 metre high former tracking tower at Carnarvon, north of Western Australia.
The tower was part of a NASA tracking station that was operational from 1964 to 1975.
Satellite Tracking Station
Satellite Tracking Station, Mingenew Australia
Special ! Earth Satellite Station (1969)
Special ! Earth satellite station.
L/S Hong Kong. L/S giant dish aerial on Stanley Peninsula, Hong Kong. M/S man at controls in control room (electronic equipment). M/S man adjusting powerpacks. M/S man walking into back of dish aerial. L/S of dish aerial. L/S microwave tower. C/U zoom out of the 'CABLE AND WIRELESS LTD. BOARD' and pan to top of microwave tower. M/S of three auto-generators. C/U of electronic equipment. C/U electronic equipment, pan up to show more equipment. M/S man in control room. C/U man in control room. C/U man adjusts knob on control panel. L/S of the dish aerial. C/U Antenna hub, zoom out to show L/S of dish aerial. L/S government building in Washington. L/S of the White House. L/S giant dish aerial at Hong Kong
FILM ID:2229.08
A VIDEO FROM BRITISH PATHÉ. EXPLORE OUR ONLINE CHANNEL, BRITISH PATHÉ TV. IT'S FULL OF GREAT DOCUMENTARIES, FASCINATING INTERVIEWS, AND CLASSIC MOVIES.
FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES VISIT
British Pathé also represents the Reuters historical collection, which includes more than 136,000 items from the news agencies Gaumont Graphic (1910-1932), Empire News Bulletin (1926-1930), British Paramount (1931-1957), and Gaumont British (1934-1959), as well as Visnews content from 1957 to the end of 1984. All footage can be viewed on the British Pathé website.
New Australian Tracking Station Opened (1965)
Australia.
Australian commentary, transcript on file.
LS. The giant antenna and dish aerial at the Tidbindilla tracking station. VS. at opening ceremony performed by Sir Robert Menzies. VS. Inside the control room of the tracking station with engineers busy at the complex system of tracking spacecraft, etc. VS. More of the aerial. LS. Rocket blasting off and slight tilt at night.
(Comb. F.G.)
FILM ID:3110.08
A VIDEO FROM BRITISH PATHÉ. EXPLORE OUR ONLINE CHANNEL, BRITISH PATHÉ TV. IT'S FULL OF GREAT DOCUMENTARIES, FASCINATING INTERVIEWS, AND CLASSIC MOVIES.
FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES VISIT
British Pathé also represents the Reuters historical collection, which includes more than 136,000 items from the news agencies Gaumont Graphic (1910-1932), Empire News Bulletin (1926-1930), British Paramount (1931-1957), and Gaumont British (1934-1959), as well as Visnews content from 1957 to the end of 1984. All footage can be viewed on the British Pathé website.
Carnarvon, Western Australia | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:00:39 1 History
00:02:57 2 Economy
00:03:52 3 Education
00:04:26 4 Climate
00:05:41 5 Aerospace
00:06:19 6 iKorean Star/i
00:06:52 7 December 2010 floods
00:07:06 8 Notable people
00:07:46 9 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
Listen on Google Assistant through Extra Audio:
Other Wikipedia audio articles at:
Upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
Speaking Rate: 0.9383761970708897
Voice name: en-GB-Wavenet-B
I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Carnarvon is a coastal town situated approximately 900 kilometres (560 mi) north of Perth, Western Australia. It lies at the mouth of the Gascoyne River on the Indian Ocean. The popular Shark Bay world heritage area lies to the south of the town and the Ningaloo Reef and the popular tourist town of Exmouth lie to the north. Within Carnarvon is the Mungullah Aboriginal Community. Inland, Carnarvon has strong links with the town of Gascoyne Junction and the Burringurrah Community. At the 2016 census, Carnarvon had a population of 4,426.
CREEPY TRAIN MUSEUM, CARNARVON | Wandergasm
En-route to Kalbarri NP we stopped of in the town of Carnarvon, famous for its plantations, OTC dish, Big Banana and sausage rolls.
Heads up. Don't drive over the train tracks at the Train Museum.
CAS' INSTA: @CasVener
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FAQ:
When did I start travelling?
I began to travel properly a few months after I graduated university in 2012. I booked a one way ticket to Australia and the fun began from there!
How do I fund my travels?
I normally apply for a work/travel visa in the country I am spending the majority of my time, I will then work for several months in a row, save up money and then disappear for a few months when I have the cash! I am also blessed enough to have made some really good friends on a lot of my previous travels, this normally means I have a place to crash!
What did I do before I began travelling?
Before I started travelling I gained a BSc in Forensics and Crime Scene Investigation, I intended to use my degree to get into Law school and become a Lawyer! That was all until I discovered road trips and wanderlust!
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No! Everything I know I learned on the go! It really is the best way! Hands on knowledge in filming and editing really cannot be beaten.
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The Vital Link
In 1965–66, a NASA team, headed by Charles Gallagher, produced a 28 minute documentary on the Goddard networks (MSFN and STADAN) as well as the DSN. It gives a unique insight into the vast NASCOM and the various stations.
Description via
Video encoded by Colin Mackellar.