Summary
By 1970, Australia housed a number of NASA-operated technological facilities that played a significant role in the early exploration of space – in fact, the largest number of these facilities, outside the USA, were in Australia. From Honeysuckle Creek in the ACT to Cooby Creek in Queensland, these deep space-tracking networks were instrumental in the success of several NASA missions including making sure that eager television viewers worldwide could watch Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the Moon.
Learn the untold story of Australia’s early contributions to the space race and hear firsthand from the unsung Aussies who worked tirelessly to transmit the first signals from the moon to the world.
Image credit Bruce Withey https://honeysucklecreek.net/
FEATURING
Colin Mackellar
Colin Mackellar
Colin Mackellar has had a lifelong interest in space exploration, growing up in Sydney during the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions, and studying Science (Geology and Geophysics) at Sydney University...
View ProfilePatrick Hetherman
Patrick Hetherman
Patrick Hetherman was educated at Salvatorian College Grammar School in London, before joining the Royal Navy Electrical branch in 1953. Specialising in aviation electronics, he rose through the ranks before...
View ProfileKerrie Dougherty
Kerrie Dougherty
Kerrie Dougherty is an independent space historian, curator and educator. Formerly Curator of Space Technology at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, she has 35 years’ experience in communicating space to the...
View ProfileJohn Saxon
John Saxon
John Saxon was born in the United Kingdom where he trained in Electronics Engineering. In the early 1960s, he visited Australia to develop one of the World's first Inertial navigation...
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