The Iconic 85' Dish (1965)
I want to be with you under a Southern Sky
Feel the earth move as I see you walking by
I want to take you to the moon and back tonight
Sleep with angels in the shelter of a perfect Southern Sky
In the stillness and forgiveness of a perfect Southern Sky
-Mango Groove
March 2011 marks the Golden Jubilee of the Hartebeesthoek's 85' Deep Space Dish Antenna located in the foothills of the Magaliesberg. Today this precision instrument is no longer used by NASA for its Space Programme but is dedicated instead to Radio Astronomy. Nevertheless, the story of the beginnings of the Hartebeesthoek Tracking Station is worth recalling not only for its historical significance but also for the impact it had on my own life.
It was at Hartebeeshoek that I first started work. Back in the 1960s with the Space Race at its height, a career in Space Research, was many an aspiring young boy's dream. Hartebeesthoek left an indelible mark on my life that I continue to appreciate. I will always remain indebted to colleagues and mentors, lecturers and trainers, engineers and technicians, storemen and security personnel, secretaries and librarians, mess and bunker room staff, far too many to record by name, who in one way or another, had a formative influence on my life.
DSIF-51 Staff Photo (1970)
In the late 1950s NASA required round the globe tracking coverage for its proposed deep space unmanned missions. Goldstone (DSIF 11, 1958) in California and Woomera (DSIF 41, 1960-1972) were obvious choices. The third element in the envisaged Deep Space Network (DSN) fell in the longitude that would make either Spain or South Africa suitable options. While NASA preferred Spain, South Africa had a geographical advantage that could not be ignored. The launch path of the space probes from Cape Canaveral passed directly over South Africa. This was a critical phase in the launch of a spacecraft. Invariably DSIF-51 would be the first to confirm or otherwise a successful launch and trajectory. Another deciding factor was the so-called "Southern dwell" of the planets at that time which gave South Africa and Australia a geo-astronomical advantage. The geographical position of South Africa was therefore of considerable strategic advantage. Despite some serious political and diplomatic qualms, the choice eventually tilted in South Africa's favour. NASA's first global Deep Space Network, Goldstone-Woomera-Hartebeesthoek, was linked by means of existing and developing communication lines to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Control Centre in Pasadena, California.
Sputniks and Explorers fired our young imaginations. I had just commenced High School when, in September 1960, an agreement was concluded by NASA with the South African government and the CSIR for the construction of the Deep Space Instrumentation Facility (DSIF 51, 1961-1974) north-west of Johannesburg. It would operate under the auspices of the National Institute for Telecommunications Research (NITR) of the CSIR. NASA was anxious to have the facility operational in time to provide essential support for the first launch of the Ranger missions to the Moon. This was scheduled to commence in July 1961. "To prepare the site, erect the antenna, install and test the equipment, and train personnel in its operation, under the pressure of a high profile mission like Ranger, posed a formidable challenge for everyone involved," wrote NASA historian Douglas J Mudgway (1: p23). This was no mean undertaking. I followed the progress with a great deal of interest not realising that I'd one day be working there.
The iconic, almost eight storey high, parabolic dish antenna is to this day still a monument to the vision of the original planners, negotiators, construction and installation engineers, and of project and station managers. Construction work began in November 1960 and was completed by July in good time for the anticipated Ranger Missions. This huge undertaking involved construction of roads and the preparation of the site, the trucking and shipping of sophisticated equipment and components from the USA to Hartebeesthoek. Staff had to be employed and trained. The erection of the 85' antenna started in January 1961 was completed in 69 days on the 25th March 1961. Extensive electronic and communication installations had to be tested and calibrated. Despite heavy summer rains impeding the laying of foundations, the erection of buildings, and provision of on-site power generators, Hartebeesthoek was ready for operations by the 1st July 1961. Unfortunately the worsening political situation in South Africa prevented NASA from participating officially in the locally arranged Opening Ceremonies (1: p 25). Eventually the political situation would lead to the closure of the Tracking Facility in June 1974 whereafter the facilities were commissioned for purposes of Radio Astronomy. It is now know as the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HRAO).
Despite the turmoil of the 1960s, Hartebeesthoek made a vital contribution to space research during those crucial, early years of space exploration. It provided tracking support for upto 38 spacecraft over its 13 years of its operation. Some of the projects included:
The Pioneer Missions into Deep Space http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_program
The Ranger Missions to the Moon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger_program
Lunar Orbiters http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_Orbiter_program
Surveyor Lunar Landings http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surveyor_Program
Mariner IV to Mars http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariner_IV
Mariner V Mission to Venus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariner_V
Mariner VI to Mars http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariner_VI
Apollo 15 Mission to the Moon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_15
At one point Hartebeesthoek, in 1963, held the record for long-distance communications. "Our DSIF station had the distinction of being the first in the DSIF network to successfully transmit a Command to Mariner 2. It was also the last station to contact Mariner, and as such holds the world's long distance communication record of about 54 million miles," said Dr Naude, President of the CSIR. Of course this has since been surpassed by larger tracking antennas and more sophisticated electronics. But at the time it was a notable achievement.
(For mission images see: http://www.hartrao.ac.za/other/dss51/missions.html)
"....a key element in all of those dramatic spacecraft events, the DSN shared their excitement, but saw a quiet , unreported drama of its own. There were occasions when the success or failure of a multimillion spacecraft, the reputation of NASA, or the recovery of critical science data from a far planet, lay in the hands of the DSN and, not infrequently, those of a crew member at a distant tracking station.... often though, the determined, sometimes heroic, efforts of engineers and technicians in laboratories at JPL, and in control rooms and antennas at remote tracking stations, provided drama enough for those of us who were aware of it." (1: xxi)
Celebrating the Fifth Anniversary of the International Tracking Networks in 1963, Dr S M Naude, president of the CSIR, remarked, "The tracking of satellites and space probes is an arduous task. There are moments of tense drama which even the veteran tracker cannot resist, but there are proportionately more humdrum moments when machinery and instruments have to be cleaned and overhauled. The responsibility, the excitement and the routine of tracking call for special qualities of personality and character, and I am profoundly grateful that these are evidenced in abundance in the work of Dr. Hewitt, Mr. Hogg, Mr. Botha and the 80-odd scientists and technicians who man the combined Radio Space Research Station. Credit is also due to their wives and families for accepting the irregular hours of work at the station...the D.S.I.F. station crew was divided into three shifts of 10 people, each shift working for about 18 hours a day." (3)
Tracking staff included engineers and technicians from South Africa, Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, and Greece. Though proudly a facility based in Africa, South Africa's discriminatory legislation expressly excluded many from participating in this adventure into Space. This was to be its nemesis. I myself had to go to Pasadena and Goldstone in California before I really even became aware of this glaring anomaly and injustice.
Some of us, were not only fortunate but privileged to have been trained and employed as technicians in Space Communications at Hartebeesthoek from 1965 till December 1972. I, for instance, had the chance of a life time, to go to JPL and Goldstone for further training on one of the Mariner Mars missions. Many equally deserving South Africans were excluded from such opportunities.
I became acutely aware of the injustice. The writing was on the wall. 14th August 1971 American Congressman Charles Diggs, visited South Africa which included an inspection of Hartebeeshoek. The Apartheid policies of the South African government had become an embarrassment. Sanctions were being imposed. The American presence at Hartebeeshoek came increasingly under scrutiny. Larger tracking dishes and more sophisticated equipment no longer gave South Africa the leverage of its strategic geographical advantage. The Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex (MDSCC) now came into prominence. The closure of the Hartebeesthoek Tracking Station was finally announced in July 1973. The closure of DSIF-51 ironically resulted in long term positive spinoffs for both myself and for Hartebeesthoek itself.
For myself, in 1969 the Anglican Dean of Pretoria, the Rev Mark Nye had called for a space programme of the human spirit "to tackle the far more difficult problems of man in his relationship to himself, to society and to God. If men can provide the resources, the skills, the astronomical sums of money, to put two men on the Moon, why cannot they direct themselves equally successfully to the ordering of their own lifes?" (Sunday Times, 10/6/69) This challenge couldn't be ignored much longer. By the time of Congressman Diggs' visit, I had already sensed a call to ministry. Diggs was a Baptist and an ardent Civil Rights and Anti-Apartheid Activist. His visit, unpopular as it was, precipitated my decision to move on. I had come to the end of my contractual commitments and obligations to Hartebeesthoek. I resigned and candidated for the Methodist ministry at the end of 1971. There were now other important, more urgent frontiers and missions beckoning me.
For Hartebeeshoek and others there were positive outcomes too. Highly skilled and experienced staff in some of the most advanced electronic technologies of the time were dispersed further afield, some were employed by local industries, others went abroad, a few remained at Hartebeeshoek. The impact of this kind of migration of skills and experience is immeasurable. Hartebeesthoek continued to advance the exploration of the Universe through its Radio Astronomy programme operating first under the CSIR, then the Foundation for Research Development (FRD), which later became the National Research Foundation (NRF) in 1999. Cooperating with Radio Astronomers in many parts of the world including South Africa, Hartebeesthoek has continued to provide invaluable support in groundbreaking 21st Century Space Research.
Dr George Nicolson, who headed up the Radio Astronomy Observatory, wrote, "When in 1974, NASA decided to close the Hartebeesthoek station, prohibitive transportation costs and the spirit of cooperation which exists among scientists all over the world resulted in some of the radio-tracking equipment being left behind for the use of the CSIR radio astronomers. The Hartebeesthoek Deep Space Station then became South Africa's Radio Astronomy Observatory...." (4). This expertise and technology remained in the country and has evolved to become one of the most significant research facilities in the country. A new era in South African astronomy had been born.
Unfortunately, toward the end of 2008, the large bearing of the 85' dish antenna failed. This was a serious setback but it didn't daunt Hartebeesthoek. According to the HRAO website, the 85' antenna that had given faithful service for almost fifty years "was immediately shut down to prevent further damage. After extensive engineering investigation and consultation, the decision was taken to repair the telescope." Acquiring and replacing a main bearing of this huge 200 tonne structure was in itself a major engineering feat. This remarkable achievement is documented on the pages of the HRAO website at http://www.hartrao.ac.za/news/100906_26m_repair/index.html. The fifty year old antenna was given a new lease of life and is operational once again, a worthy monument to South Africa's historic role in space exploration.
Working at Hartebeeshoek was for me not only a vicarious journey into Outer Space but it was also a virtual journey into my own Inner Space. In no small measure the experience was enriching, extending the boundaries of my own limited horizons and prejudices, broadening and deepening my understanding of my origins and place in an unimaginably vast Universe. The further we looked out upon the vast expanse of our Universe, listening to the miniscule signals coming from a lonely distant spacecraft the more conscious I became of a Transcendental Reality holding it all together. Often I would go outside at night and see the Dish pointed skyward focused on some remote, invisible star or probe in Space and I would become blissfully mindful of something that Jan Smuts once wrote. He was no stranger to the Magalieberg, he said:
"...we are indeed one with Nature, her genetic fibres run through all our being, our physical organs connect us with millions of years of her history; our minds are full of immemorial paths of pre-human experience." (7: p.333)
...and then I'd remember that not very far from Hartebeesthoek where I was standing, peering ecstatically deep into the dark night sky were the Sterkfontein Caves. And I instinctively felt a profound connection between the two. I had come a very long way.
A recent visit to Hartebeesthoek (2010)
Hartebeesthoek has also come a long way. We wish "Harties" another fifty years of many more exciting discoveries as it continues to probe ever further into our "perfect Southern Skies"!
oOo
For more about the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatorysee http://www.hartrao.ac.za/
and for some stunning photos see http://www.hartrao.ac.za/gallery/
References:
1. Douglas J Mudgway, Uplink-Downlink, A History of the Deep Space Network 1957 - 1997, NASA 2001
2. G Gray-Cobb, "The radio space research station, Hartebeesthoek", The Transactions of the SA Institute of Electrical Engineers, April 1964, p 163
3. Dr S M Naude, Speech "U.S. International Tracking Networks' Fifth Anniversary", The South African Engineer, March 1963.
4. Dr G D Nicolson, "Tuning in on the Universe", Scientiae, March 1980. p 10
5. Doug Hogg, "South Africa and the Exploation of Space", Scientiae, February 1975.
6. DSIF: Johannesburg, JPL Technical Memorandum No 33-224, 1965.
7 Jan C Smuts, Holism and Evolution, Macmillan (Third Edition), 1936
Related Blogs:
http://ichthyscybernetics.blogspot.com/2010/03/first-love-principle-of-first.html
http://ichthyscybernetics.blogspot.com/2010/03/first-love-continued-programming-and.html
©Colin G Garvie HomePage: http://www.garvies.co.za
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