Space Sounds from Minitrack, Island Lagoon
Bruce Window at Island Lagoon Minitrack 1963. |
Though many of the satellites were built by or in conjunction with the US Department of Defense, Minitrack only tracked Unclassified research spacecraft. The “Johnston Island bomb” to which Bruce refers on the tape was the Starfish Prime experimental detonation of a device 400km above the Pacific Ocean. That detonation created a larger-than-expected electromagnetic pulse, which damaged several satellites as well as causing havoc on Hawaii. |
Island Lagoon Minitrack Telemetry Receiver, 1962. Photo: Bruce Window. |