DC09-219 July 10, 2009
BT’s Goonhilly satellite earth station celebrates its key role in the moon landing broadcasts
BT’s Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station will this month celebrate the vital role it played 40 years ago in the broadcasting of one of mankind’s greatest achievements.
On Sunday July 20, 1969, Goonhilly’s giant Antenna 1 – nowadays affectionately known as Arthur – relayed the historic pictures of the first moon landing to television screens in the UK.
Millions of people across the country had stayed awake into the early hours to watch American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin guide Apollo 11’s lunar module to a safe touchdown in the moon’s Sea of Tranquility.
The astonishing ‘live’ pictures of the mission were transmitted across a quarter of a million miles of space to stations in Ascension Island, Australia and the USA and relayed from the US, via satellite, to Goonhilly, which is located on Cornwall’s Lizard Peninsula. A microwave link was then used to send the images to the BBC and ITV in London and on to the European Broadcasting Union network for viewing across Europe.
Goonhilly’s popular Visitors Centre is organising a celebration of those historic moments and on the evening of Monday July 20 will host an exclusive anniversary event for 100 people. It will include presentations by leading astronomers, authors and presenters, such as Peter Grego and Ian Ridpath, both of whom have written a number of books about the moon and space; and Brian Sheen, the director of the Roseland Observatory. The displays and attractions will include a genuine piece of moon rock and an inflatable planetarium. Tickets are available from 01872 325 400.
Among those with clear memories of that historic night is Pip Greenaway, 66, from Truro, who was a technician in the control room at the time of the landing. He said: “There were only seven of us there at the time including a couple of American observers, I think from NASA.
“It was pretty exciting to see those pictures come through all the way from the moon and we were all crowded around the monitors watching that first step taken by Neil Armstrong.
“It was such a great achievement and a real privilege to be there at Goonhilly at the time. We were amazed at the huge step forward in technology even then, and just look how far we have come since.”
John Austin, now aged 67, was another technician in the Goonhilly control room at the time of the landing. His job, known as Aerial Steering, was to ensure that Goonhilly’s Antenna 1 stayed locked onto the satellite relaying the broadcasts as it tracked across the sky.
He said: “I remember it all very well. I had just done a 12-hour daytime shift, but, such was the importance of the moon landing, I was asked to stay on for the 12-hour night shift to ensure everything went according to plan. We had a relatively new person on Duty Aerial Steering that night, but thankfully everything went like clockwork.
“I was shattered by the time the second shift finished at 8am, though I felt very privileged to have seen it all happen. It is something I will never forget. To be there at the time was quite an experience.”
Technology has progressed astonishingly since those early days. Goonhilly’s Elliot 803 computer which was used to track satellites, such as Telstar, filled the equivalent of a large living room. But its 4K memory possessed a fraction of the processing power of today’s home computers.
“Input and output to this machine was by teleprinter,” said John. “Keyboards and TV-type screens to read the output did not exist. The electronics to drive the aerial from the prediction tapes produced by the computer consisted of nine full-height equipment racks. There were hundreds of cards with transistors, resistors and capacitors – but not one integrated circuit in the whole thing!
“It’s hard to believe what has happened in the last 40 years. It makes you think. There were no digital watches, no mobile phones, and, of course, no home computers.”
John, now living in Sidmouth, spent 24 years at the Goonhilly station as a technician and then later as a manager.
The 1,118 tonne Antenna 1 ‘dish’ has become one of Cornwall’s best known tourist attractions. Built in 1962, it now has Grade 11 star listed status.
Michael Dunn, BT’s regional manager for the South West, said: “BT has been doing exciting things in Cornwall for a long time and it's good to mark these special occasions and celebrate the innovation of local people in making telecommunications history. This is a big day for the Earth Station and for everyone that has been involved with it.”
