table6.32

SP-4012 NASA HISTORICAL DATA BOOK: VOLUME III
PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS 1969-1978

Table 6-32. Tracking and Data Acquisition Stations, 1969-1978

Station (Location)

Code Name or Number
Lattitude Longitude
Type of Station
Established
Phased Out
Equipment
Remarks

STADAN
MSFN
DSN

.

Alaska (near Fairbanks)

ALASKA

64°59'N 147°31'W

X
.

.

1962

.

GRARR and MOTS, SATAN receivers and command; dish antennas (12, 14, and 26 m)

Also referred to as Fairbanks station. ESSA also operated a station equipped with a 26-m antenna in nearby Gilmore. Planned to be sued at 1 of 5 TDRSS orbital support stations.

Antigua (British West Indies)

ANG

17°09'N 61°47'W

.

X
.

1967

1970

9-m USB; VHF telemetry links; telemetry recording

DoD also operated a tracking station on Antigua which supported NASA until 1970.

Ascension Island (South Atlantic)

ASN

7°57'S 14°35'W

X
X
X
1967

.

9-m USB; VHF telemetry links; FM remoting telemetry; decommutators; telemetry recording; data processing, communications (voice, VHF air ground, teletype, video, and high-speed data); 9-m DSN antenna

Primary USB station for near-Earth Apollo operations. DoD also operated a station on Ascension Island. DSN operations were phased out in 1969.

Bermuda (Atlantic)

BDA

32°15'N 64°50'W

X
X
.

1961

.

C-band radar; 9-m USB; VHF telemetry links; FM remoting telemetry; decommutators; telemetry recording; data processing; communications (voice, VHF air to ground, teletype video, high-speed data)

Data received at Bermuda were crucial in making the go no-go decision for orbital insertion. Bermuda also provided reentry tracking for Atlantic recovery situations. Planned to be used at 1 of 2 TDRSS launch support stations.

Canary Island. See Grand Canary

Canberra (Southeastern Australia)

CANBERRA

42

35° 24'S 148°59'E

X
X
X
1965

.

26-m USB; FM remoting telemetry; decommutators; telemetry recording; data processing; communications (voice, video, teletype, and high-speed data); 64-m antenna

Also officially called Honeysuckle Creek as part of the MSFN and Tidinbilla as part of the DSN Supported Appollo lunar operations. 25-m antenna transferred to the DoD in 1973. Planned to be used as 1 of 5 TDRSS orbital support stations. The 64-m antenna, 1 of 3 built by NASA, became operational in 1973.

Cape Kennedy (Florida)

CAPE 71

28°28'N

80°34W

X
X
X
1961

.

9-m USB; radar (FPS-16, ODOP, and optical); acquisition aid; telemetry reception; data processing, communications (voice, VHF air to ground, and telemetry; 1.3-m DSN antenna

Not considered part of the global STADAN or MSFN networks but supported Eastern Test Range launches. The DSN Compatibility Test Station, located nearby (28o 29N), was built in 1965.

Carnarvon (western Australia)

CARVON or CRO

24°54'S

113°43'E

X
X
.

1964

1974

GRARR; 9-m USB; C-band radar; VHF telemetry links; FM remoting telemetry; decommutators; telemetry recording; data processing; communications (voice, VHF air to ground, teletype, video, and high-speed data)

Equipment from Muchea (closed 1964 and Woomera (Closed 1966) stations was consolidated here. For Project Biosatellite, Yagi command equipment was used here.

Cebreros. See Madrid

Corpus Christi (Texas)

TEX

27°39'N

97°23'W

.

X
.

1961

1974

9-m USB; VHF telemetry links; FM remoting telemetry; decommutators; telemetry recording; data processing; communications (voice, VHF air to ground, teletype, video, and high-speed data)

Station not critical for STADAN operations

Darwin (north-central Austrialia)

DARWIN

12°17'S

130°49'E

X
.

.

1965

1969

4.3-m antenna; Yagi command

Antenna transferred to Kauai Station.

Fairbanks. See Alaska.

Ft. Myers (Florida)

FTMYRS

26°33'N

81°52'W

X
.

.

1959

1972

SATAN receivers and command; 3 Yai command; MOTS

.

Gilmore. See Alaska

Goddard. See Network Test and Training Facility.

Goldstone (California)

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Goldstone, located in the Mojave Desert, is the largest concentration of NASA tracking and data acquisition equipment. There are 6 individual stations. Planned to be used as 1 of 5 TDRSS global support stations.

.

MOJAVE

35°20'N

116°54'W

X
.

.

1960

1969

14-m antenna; SATAN receivers and command

.

.

GDS

35°20'N

116°54'W

X
X
.

1967

.
9-m antenna; 26-m USB; FM remoting telemetry; decommutators; telemetry recording; data processing; communications (voice, teletype, video, and high-speed data)

Also called Apollo station.

.

ECHO

12

35°18'N

116°49'W

.

.

X
1960

.

26-m antenna

.

.

MARS 14

35° 26'N

116° 44'W

.

.

X
1968

.

64-m antenna

NASA's first 64-m antenna; used to support planetary missions.

.

PIONEER

11

35° 23'N

116° 51'W

.

.

X
1958

.

26-m antenna

.

.

VENUS 13

35° 26'N

116° 53'W

.

.

X
1962

.

9-m antenna 34-m antenna

DSN research and development facility.

Grand Bahama

(South Atlantic)

GBM

26°38'N

78°16'W

.

X
.

1967

1970

9-m USB; VHF telemetry links; FM remoting telemetry; decommutators; telemetry recording; data processing; communications (voice,VHF air to ground, teletype; video; and high-speed data)

Critical station during launch phase. DoD also operated a tracking facility on Grand Bahama, which supported NASA missions.

Grand Canary (near coast of Morocco)

CYI

27°44'N

15°36'W

X
X
.

1961

1975

C-band radar; 9-m USB; VHF telemetry links; FM remoting telemetry; decommutators; telemetry recording; data processing; communications (voice; VHF air to ground, teletype, video, and high speed data)

.

Guam (Pacific)

GWM

13°18'N

144°44'E

X
X
.

1966

.

9-m USB; VHF telemetry; decommutators; telemetry recording; data processing; communications (voice, VHF air to ground, teletype, video, and high-speed data communications (voice, VHF air to ground, teletype, video, an d high-speed data)

.

Guaymas (Mexico)

GYM

27°57'N

110°43'W

.

X
.

1961

1970

9-m USB; VHF telemetry links; FM remoting telemetry; decommulators; telemetry recording; data processing; communications (voice, VHF air to ground, teletype, video, and high-speed data)

.

Hawaii, See Kauai.

Honeysuckle Creek. See Canberra.

Station (Location)

Code Name or Number
Lattitude Longitude
Type of Station
Established
Phased Out
Equipment
Remarks

STADAN
MSFN
DSN

.

Johannesburg (South Africa)

JOBURG 51

25°53'S

27°42'E

X
.

X
1958

1975

14-m antenna; SATAN receivers and command;YAGI command; MOTS; 26-m antenna

The STADAN facility bean operation in 1958 and was closed in 1975. The DSN facility, located at Hartbeesthoekopened in 1961 and was closed in 1974. DoD also operated a station in the vicinity, known as Pretoria. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory maintained a facility in the area at Olifantsfontein. Officially NASA closed its operation for technical reasons, but the agency was also under political pressure from Congress to do so because of South Africa's apartheid practices.

Kasima Machi (Japan)

.

35°57'N

140°40'E

X
.

.

1967

1970

.

Collateral station.

Kauai (Hawaii)

KAUAIH

or HAW

22°07'N

157°40'W

X
X
.

1961

.

2 Yagi command; 4.3m antenna; C-band radar; 9-m USB: VHF telemetry links; FM remoting telemetry; decommuntators; telemetry recording; data processing; communications (voice, VHF air to ground, teletype, video, and high-speed data)

The MSFN station began operations in 1961 and the STADAN in 1965.

Lima (Peru)

LIMAPU

11°47'S

77°09'W

X
.

.

1957

1969

SATAN receivers and command; Yagi command; MOTS

.

Madagascar. See Tananarive

Madrid (Spain)

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

There were 3 individual NASA stations near Madrid. Planned to be 1 of 5 TDRSS orbital support stations.

.

MAD

40°27'N

4°10'W

X
X
.

1967

.

26-m antenna; FM remoting telemetry; decommuntators telemetry recording; data processing communications (voice, video, teletype, and high-speed data)

Referred to officially as Madrid station.

.

61

40°26'N

4°10'W

.

.

X
1965

.

26-m antenna

64-m antenna

Known as the Robledo DSN station. The 64-m antenna, 1 of 3 built by NASA, became operational in 1973.

.

62

40°27'N

4°22'W

.

.

X
1967

.

26-m antenna

Known as the Cebreros DSN station.

Merritt Island (Florida)

MIL

28°25'N

80°40'W

X
X
.
1973

.

3.7-m USB; C-band radar; VHF telemetry links; FM remoting telemetry; decommutators; telemetry recording; data processing; communications (voice, VHF air to ground, teletype, video, and high-speed)

Located near the Cape Kennedy launch complex. Planned to be used as as 1 of 2 TDRSS launch support stations.

Mojave. See Goldstone.

Network Test and Training Facility (Maryland)

NTIF

38°59'N

76°51'W

X
X
X
1966

.

.

Located at Goddard Space Flight Center, this facility was used only for testing new equipment bound for the networks and for training new personnel until 1974, when it was made part of the operational network.

Orroral Valley

(Southeastern Australia)

ORORAL

35°38'S

148°57'E

X
.

.

1965

.

26-m antenna; 2 SATAN receivers and command; Yagi command; MOTS

Provided geodetic data for the a South Pacific area

Quito (Ecuador)

QUITOE

37°S

78°35'W

X
.

.

1957

.

12-m antenna; SATAN receivers and command; 3 Yagi command; MOTS

.

Robledo. See Madrid

Rosman (North Carolina)

ROSMAN

35°12'N

82°52'W

X
.

.

1963

1981

2 26-m antenna; GRARR; 3 SATAN receivers and command; MOTS; ATS telemetry and command

Received high data-rate telemetry from observatory-class satellites. Facility turned over to DoD in 1981. Planned to be used as 1 of 5 TDRSS orbital support stations.

Santiago (Chile)

SNTAGO

33°09'S

70°40'W

X
.

.

1957

.

12-m antenna; GRARR; 2 SATAN receivers; 1 SATAN command; Yagi command; MOTS

.

Singapore (Southeast Asia)

.

2°S

103°E

X
.

.

1963

1970

.

Collateral station.

St. John's

(Newfoundland)

NEWFLD

47°44'N

52°43'W

X
.

.

1960

1970

3 Yagi command; MOTS

.

Tananarive (Malagasy Republic)

.

19°00'S

47°18'E

X
.

.

1965

1975

14-m antenna; GRARR

This STADAN station also supported Apollo operations. The station was abandoned when a new revolutionary government demanded $10 million in back rent (no exchange of funds had ever been agreed to). Some of the equipment left at the facility was repatriated in 1980.

Tidbinbilla. See Canberra.

Toowoomba (eastern Australia)

TOOMBA

27°24'S

151°56'E

X
.

.

1966

1969

14-m antenna; SATAN receivers; Yagi command; transportable ATS equipment.

Used primarily to support ATS. Also referred to as Cooby Creek.

White Sands (New Mexico)

WHS

32°21'N

106°22'W

X
X
.

1961

.

C-band radar; communications (voice and teletype)

This station provided support during Apollo. Located on the Army's White Sands Missile Range, the station was equipped with DoD radar and NASA-owned acquisition aids. Planned to be used as the site of the TDRSS ground station.

Winkfield (England)

WNKFLD

51o27N

00o42W

X
.

.

1961

.

4.3m antenna; SATAN receivers and command; Yagi command; MOTS

Operated by British personnel.

Woomers (southern Austrialia)

41

31°23'S

136°53'E

.

.

X
1960

1972

26-m antenna

.

Tracking Ships

Huntsville

.

.

X
.

1962

.

.

Originally used to support Mercury; modified for Apollo.

Mercury

.

.

X
.

1966

.

.

Instrumented by NASA, this refitted tanker was used in the Pacific during Apollo operations.

Redstone

.

.

X
.

1966

.

.

Instrumented by NASA, this refitted tanker was used in the Indian Ocean during Apollo operations.

Vanguard

.

.

X
.

1966

.

.

Instrumented by NASA, this refitted tanker wa sused int eh Atlantic during Apollo operations and later as part of the STADAN

Watertown

.

.

X
.

1962

.

.

Originally used to support Mercury; modified for Apollo.

Apollo Range Instrumentation Aircraft

ARIA

.

X
X
.

1966

.

.

Eight instrumented aircraft were used as communications relays to support Apollo operations in areas where there were no grounds stations, especially during reentry and landing. In 1975, 2 aircraft remained in the STADAN network.

- Back -

Station (Location)	Code Name or Number	Lattitude Longitude	Type of Station			Established	Phased Out	Equipment	Remarks
Station (Location)	Code Name or Number	Lattitude Longitude	STADAN	MSFN	DSN	Established	Phased Out	Equipment	Remarks
.
Alaska (near Fairbanks)	ALASKA	64°59'N 147°31'W	X	.	.	1962	.	GRARR and MOTS, SATAN receivers and command; dish antennas (12, 14, and 26 m)	Also referred to as Fairbanks station. ESSA also operated a station equipped with a 26-m antenna in nearby Gilmore. Planned to be sued at 1 of 5 TDRSS orbital support stations.
Antigua (British West Indies)	ANG	17°09'N 61°47'W	.	X	.	1967	1970	9-m USB; VHF telemetry links; telemetry recording	DoD also operated a tracking station on Antigua which supported NASA until 1970.
Ascension Island (South Atlantic)	ASN	7°57'S 14°35'W	X	X	X	1967	.	9-m USB; VHF telemetry links; FM remoting telemetry; decommutators; telemetry recording; data processing, communications (voice, VHF air ground, teletype, video, and high-speed data); 9-m DSN antenna	Primary USB station for near-Earth Apollo operations. DoD also operated a station on Ascension Island. DSN operations were phased out in 1969.
Bermuda (Atlantic)	BDA	32°15'N 64°50'W	X	X	.	1961	.	C-band radar; 9-m USB; VHF telemetry links; FM remoting telemetry; decommutators; telemetry recording; data processing; communications (voice, VHF air to ground, teletype video, high-speed data)	Data received at Bermuda were crucial in making the go no-go decision for orbital insertion. Bermuda also provided reentry tracking for Atlantic recovery situations. Planned to be used at 1 of 2 TDRSS launch support stations.
Canary Island. See Grand Canary
Canberra (Southeastern Australia)	CANBERRA 42	35° 24'S 148°59'E	X	X	X	1965	.	26-m USB; FM remoting telemetry; decommutators; telemetry recording; data processing; communications (voice, video, teletype, and high-speed data); 64-m antenna	Also officially called Honeysuckle Creek as part of the MSFN and Tidinbilla as part of the DSN Supported Appollo lunar operations. 25-m antenna transferred to the DoD in 1973. Planned to be used as 1 of 5 TDRSS orbital support stations. The 64-m antenna, 1 of 3 built by NASA, became operational in 1973.
Cape Kennedy (Florida)	CAPE 71	28°28'N 80°34W	X	X	X	1961	.	9-m USB; radar (FPS-16, ODOP, and optical); acquisition aid; telemetry reception; data processing, communications (voice, VHF air to ground, and telemetry; 1.3-m DSN antenna	Not considered part of the global STADAN or MSFN networks but supported Eastern Test Range launches. The DSN Compatibility Test Station, located nearby (28o 29N), was built in 1965.
Carnarvon (western Australia)	CARVON or CRO	24°54'S 113°43'E	X	X	.	1964	1974	GRARR; 9-m USB; C-band radar; VHF telemetry links; FM remoting telemetry; decommutators; telemetry recording; data processing; communications (voice, VHF air to ground, teletype, video, and high-speed data)	Equipment from Muchea (closed 1964 and Woomera (Closed 1966) stations was consolidated here. For Project Biosatellite, Yagi command equipment was used here.
Cebreros. See Madrid
Corpus Christi (Texas)	TEX	27°39'N 97°23'W	.	X	.	1961	1974	9-m USB; VHF telemetry links; FM remoting telemetry; decommutators; telemetry recording; data processing; communications (voice, VHF air to ground, teletype, video, and high-speed data)	Station not critical for STADAN operations
Darwin (north-central Austrialia)	DARWIN	12°17'S 130°49'E	X	.	.	1965	1969	4.3-m antenna; Yagi command	Antenna transferred to Kauai Station.
Fairbanks. See Alaska.
Ft. Myers (Florida)	FTMYRS	26°33'N 81°52'W	X	.	.	1959	1972	SATAN receivers and command; 3 Yai command; MOTS	.
Gilmore. See Alaska
Goddard. See Network Test and Training Facility.
Goldstone (California)	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	Goldstone, located in the Mojave Desert, is the largest concentration of NASA tracking and data acquisition equipment. There are 6 individual stations. Planned to be used as 1 of 5 TDRSS global support stations.
.	MOJAVE	35°20'N 116°54'W	X	.	.	1960	1969	14-m antenna; SATAN receivers and command	.
.	GDS	35°20'N 116°54'W	X	X	.	1967	.	9-m antenna; 26-m USB; FM remoting telemetry; decommutators; telemetry recording; data processing; communications (voice, teletype, video, and high-speed data)	Also called Apollo station.
.	ECHO 12	35°18'N 116°49'W	.	.	X	1960	.	26-m antenna	.
.	MARS 14	35° 26'N 116° 44'W	.	.	X	1968	.	64-m antenna	NASA's first 64-m antenna; used to support planetary missions.
.	PIONEER 11	35° 23'N 116° 51'W	.	.	X	1958	.	26-m antenna	.
.	VENUS 13	35° 26'N 116° 53'W	.	.	X	1962	.	9-m antenna 34-m antenna	DSN research and development facility.
Grand Bahama (South Atlantic)	GBM	26°38'N 78°16'W	.	X	.	1967	1970	9-m USB; VHF telemetry links; FM remoting telemetry; decommutators; telemetry recording; data processing; communications (voice,VHF air to ground, teletype; video; and high-speed data)	Critical station during launch phase. DoD also operated a tracking facility on Grand Bahama, which supported NASA missions.
Grand Canary (near coast of Morocco)	CYI	27°44'N 15°36'W	X	X	.	1961	1975	C-band radar; 9-m USB; VHF telemetry links; FM remoting telemetry; decommutators; telemetry recording; data processing; communications (voice; VHF air to ground, teletype, video, and high speed data)	.
Guam (Pacific)	GWM	13°18'N 144°44'E	X	X	.	1966	.	9-m USB; VHF telemetry; decommutators; telemetry recording; data processing; communications (voice, VHF air to ground, teletype, video, and high-speed data communications (voice, VHF air to ground, teletype, video, an d high-speed data)	.
Guaymas (Mexico)	GYM	27°57'N 110°43'W	.	X	.	1961	1970	9-m USB; VHF telemetry links; FM remoting telemetry; decommulators; telemetry recording; data processing; communications (voice, VHF air to ground, teletype, video, and high-speed data)	.
Hawaii, See Kauai.
Honeysuckle Creek. See Canberra.