Carnarvon – last days

After Apollo, the Carnarvon Tracking Station supported Skylab, and finally Helios-A in December 1974.

The station closed altogether on April 18 1975. The equipment was removed, leaving little else than the Telemetry and Control Building. The USB antenna was reloacted to Vandenberg AFB in California.

On Christmas Eve 1974, Radio Australia’s transmitter farm on the Cox Peninsula near Darwin had been badly damaged by Cyclone Tracy (the cyclone had largely destroyed Darwin). Temporary arrangements were made to use the Radio Australia transmitters at Shepparton, Victoria, to broadcast programmes into South East and South Asia. After NASA vacated the Carnarvon site, Radio Australia acquired the site and used it until 1996. The NASA Telemetry & Control Building was used as a transmitter hall.

Since 1996, the site has been cleared, with the exception of the SPAN building and a tower used by Telstra and the ABC for a local television translator.

The FPQ-6 being dismantled. Photo: Stan Parkes (AWA accountant), scanned by Trevor Mosel.

Range and Range Rate being dismantled. Photo: Stan Parkes, scanned by Trevor Mosel.

Range and Range Rate. Photo: Stan Parkes, scanned by Trevor Mosel.