Muchea Tracking Station was an
Earth station in Australia located close to
Muchea in the
Shire of Chittering
The Shire of Chittering is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, covering an area of about just beyond the northeastern fringe of the Perth
Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and la ...
, about north of
Perth
Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...
, Western Australia, built specifically for
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...
's
Project Mercury
Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet U ...
.
History
Muchea was established in 1960, and became operational in March 1961. It was Station No. 8 of the 14
Manned Space Flight Network sites around the world used throughout the project. The only other Australian site was Station No. 9, the
Island Lagoon Tracking Station at
Woomera, South Australia. These
stations were managed and operated by the Weapons Research Establishment of the Australian Department of Supply on behalf of NASA.
Muchea was equipped with a "VERy LOng Range Tracking" (VERLORT)
S band radar operating between 2700 and 2900 MHz. This was an upgraded version of the
SCR-584, with its range increased from to , and the diameter of the dish increased from to . It was also equipped with acquisition aid tracking systems, telemetry reception, and air-to-ground voice communications facilities. Because of its position, close to the
antipodes of
Cape Canaveral, it was also selected to have a command facility. Information about the range, bearing and elevation of the spacecraft was automatically relayed to the
Goddard Space Flight Center
The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC emp ...
by
teleprinter
A teleprinter (teletypewriter, teletype or TTY) is an electromechanical device that can be used to send and receive typed messages through various communications channels, in both point-to-point (telecommunications), point-to-point and point- ...
.
During each mission a NASA team consisting of two flight controllers and a
flight surgeon
A flight surgeon is a military medical officer practicing in the clinical field of aviation medicine. Although the term "flight surgery" is considered improper by purists, it may occasionally be encountered.
Flight surgeons are physicians (MD ...
were sent to Muchea. The Senior Flight Controller, usually another astronaut, acted as
capsule communicator (CAPCOM).
Muchea Communications Technician Gerry O'Connor became the first Australian to speak with an astronaut on 20 February 1962, when he contacted
John Glenn aboard ''
Friendship 7'' on his first pass over the West Australian coast. A small plaque has been installed on the spot occupied by the Communications Technician's console which reads: "This plaque is to mark the spot where an Australian first spoke to a space traveller".
Muchea was closed in February 1964, after the end of the Mercury Project. It was replaced by the
Carnarvon Tracking Station for the
Gemini and
Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
projects. Although the Muchea Tracking Station no longer exists, the Shire of
Chittering has erected a small display about its history.
Missions
The following missions were supported by the Muchea Station:
See also
*
List of radio telescopes
References
External links
Muchea Tracking Station tribute website
{{Portal bar, Western Australia, Australia, Physics, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System, Education, Science
Astronomical observatories in Western Australia
Earth stations in Western Australia
Project Mercury
Radio telescopes
NASA facilities in Australia
1961 establishments in Australia
1964 disestablishments in Australia