A Tribute to the men and women of
Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station, Canberra, Australia

the wider Australian involvement
in manned and unmanned space exploration, and more!

Updated 19 March 2024. | News & Events 19 March 2024.


Featured for March 2024


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Enjoy these external photos of the late stages of Honeysuckle’s construction in August – September 1966.

Image from the 2024 Honeysuckle and NASA Networks (unofficial) Calendar on my personal website.


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Remembering Tom Stafford, 1930-2024.


NASA video tribute.


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Special event – Saturday 20th April 2024 at
CDSCC / Tidbinbilla Tracking Station

Apollo 11 Special Screening, Q&A and Dish Tour

Join us for a special screening of the award-winning documentaries of Apollo 11 and Apollo 11: Quarantine. Featuring stunning, never-before-seen footage, filmed in glorious 70mm, presented as if it were captured today, experience the journey to the Moon like never before.

Following the screening, enjoy and Q&A with Apollo 11 producer, Stephen Slater, and the Deputy Director of Canberra’s Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station, Mike Dinn. They’ll share their respective experiences in making the films, and for Mike, actually being there on the console in 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon.

Then enjoy an exclusive tour of the original ‘Moon dish’ that received and broadcast those amazing TV images around the world.

Bookings are essential and seating is limited to 100.

**** SOLD OUT ****

Suitable for all ages.
Map location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/RFWvUEeJ6VoPvwKu9
Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex – 421 Discovery Drive, Tidbinbilla ACT 2620
Enquiries: pr@cdscc.nasa.gov

Itinerary
12:30 - Arrival and Seating
1:00pm - Apollo 11 screening (1h37m)
Break
2:00pm Apollo 11: Quarantine screening (23m)
Q&A: Stephen Slater and Mike Dinn
Break
3:15pm - Tour of the Moon dish (tour participants must be mobile and require enclosed footwear)
4:00pm – End of Event


Honeysuckle featured photo
Honeysuckle featured photo

Prime Minister Robert Menzies opens Tidbinbilla, 19 March 1965.

Prime Minister Harold Holt opens Honeysuckle, 17 March 1967.


Remeberring Tidbinbilla’s Opening Day, 19 March 1965.

Also see the Opening Day page.

Click here for a full screen version.


Remembering Honeysuckle Creek’s Opening Day, 17 March 1967.
Updated version.

Click here for a full screen version.

Photos by Hamish Lindsay, Bruce Withey, Martin Geasley (scanned by Bec Bigg-Wither), Ron Hicks, Danny Twomey, John Saxon, The Australian News and Information Service, Australian Department of Supply, Walkabout Magazine, Goddard News.

Also see the Opening Day section.

See also:

John Saxon’s 8mm movie footage taken on the day.

This contemporary news story from Cinesound Australia.


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Intuitive Machines thanks Parkes
for their support of the IM-1 Odysseus lunar lander


Sunset at Surveyor 3 – via DSS42 Tidbinbilla.

Full screen version on Vimeo.

Also see the Surveyor section.


Apollo 9
55th anniversary
featured featured featured

Apollo 9 launch
Audio

Apollo 9 TV
Slow scan pictures

Apollo 9 and HSK
by Hamish Lindsay

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Tidbinbilla / DSN support of Apollo 9.

In the Apollo 9 section.


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Honeysuckle antenna, May 1970.

Photo by Hamish Lindsay.


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NASA Remembers Dick Truly, Pilot of STS-2 (tracked by Orroral Valley) – and much more. NASA tribute video here.


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Snoopy, the Ascension Island mascot.

In the Ascension Island section.


See Previous featured items at this link.
(Newest at the bottom.)


Also see some related (and some unrelated!) video at vimeo.com/honeysuckle.

Some of them are collected here.


Site Menu

Updates | News

Honeysuckle Creek

Intro
Early Days (Location, Construction, Early scenes, Opening)
The Station (Technical descriptions, photos)
Honeysuckle People, Stories. (incl. Visitors, StaDirs, Reunions, and more.)

Apollo Missions

The Manned Space Flight Network,
Mission Control Center - Houston
,

Preparing for Apollo, Goddard Sims, Station Readiness Tests,

Apollo Summary,

Apollo 1, Apollo 7, Apollo 8, Apollo 9, Apollo 10, Apollo 11, Apollo 11 TV, Apollo 12, Apollo 13, Apollo 14, Apollo 15, Apollo 16, Apollo 17, ALSEP, Skylab,

Leaving the MSFN.

Deep Space Missions

Last Days Honeysuckle Today The Books

Videos

Interviews

Space People

Other

Other Stations
Tidbinbilla
, Goldstone, Madrid, Carnarvon, Guam, Ascension Island, ARIA, Deakin Switch, Parkes, Muchea, Red Lake, Island Lagoon, Orroral Valley, Cooby Creek, Carnarvon OTC, OTC (Aust), BFEC, Santiago, Darwin, Texas (Corpus Christi).

Missions Supported by Other Stations
Mercury: Friendship 7, Faith 7.
Gemini:
Gemini 3, Gemini 4, Gemini 5, Gemini 12.
Mariner IV, Ranger, Lunar Orbiter, Surveyor, Pioneer, Viking, Voyager.

Department of Supply
Pioneers
, WRESAT, Woomera.

About / Contact

Tips on navigating the site
Links


Featured

Message from Christopher Kraft, 14 March 1974, on the occasion of Honeysuckle leaving the Manned Space Flight Network.


Honeysuckle featured photo
Honeysuckle featured photo

Honeysuckle Creek
The story of Tom Reid, a little dish, and Neil Armstrong’s First Step
– by Andrew Tink, 2019.

Click for more about the book.

Royal Australian Mint Moon Landing Coins commemorate the Moon landing. 2019.

Click for more about the coins.


Honeysuckle in 1971

Neil Armstrong on the footpad – as seen at Honeysuckle Creek

Honeysuckle Creek:
a beautiful setting

Website by Colin Mackellar – photo taken 09 October 1971.


Prime Minister Gorton’s statement
Prime Minister Gorton’s statement

Australian Prime Minister John Gorton visits Honeysuckle Creek on the day of the Moon Landing, Monday 21 July 1969. Silent film (14MB MPEG4 file).

The Prime Minister after his tour inside Honeysuckle’s Operations building. Unedited news film runs for 5'14". A 21MB MPEG4 file.

Both clips courtesy of the ABC. See more of the Prime Minister’s visit here.


One Small Step: The Australian Story

Featured

Watch “One Small Step: The Australian Story”, produced by Freehand TV in Sydney for the BBC, for the 40th anniversary in 2009.
This is a unique account of Australia’s role, and features key players from Honeysuckle Creek, Tidbinbilla and Parkes. Recommended.

(If you’ve seen the much-loved Australian comedy “The Dish”,
watch this to discover what actually happened.)


The Honeysuckle antenna today

Honeysuckle featured photoThe old Honeysuckle antenna was used for its last official track in January 2010.

DSS46 photos.

And here’s a tribute page of photos on the occasion of the shutdown.




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