SATELLITE-TRACKING PROGRAM — HAYES 289 



throughout the world, enlist their cooperation, and thus arrange for 

 sites. The U.S. National Committee, however, thought that all inter- 

 national arrangements should be made through the State Department. 

 While undoubtedly Hynek's procedure would have resulted in much 

 faster selection of the sites, the IGY approach ensured a maximum of 

 cooperation from the local goverimients. 



Another, though slight, delay came from the attempt to locate to- 

 gether the Baker-Nunn and the Minitrack stations for electronic 

 tracking, on the assumption that this arrangement would save a good 

 deal of time, effort, and money. It soon became apparent, however, 

 that for technical reasons Minitrack needed large, flat areas on which 

 antennas could be set up; they did not require clear skies, but did 

 want their stations to be free of radio interference. 



The actual choice of sites did not begin until after the IGY Bar- 

 celona meeting of September 1956. Meanwhile, however, the physical 

 needs of the stations were clearly defined, and some preliminary ne- 

 gotiations were undertaken through the U.S. National Committee and 

 the State Department. 



At the same time much thought was given to the materiel that each 

 station would need. By the middle of 1956 tentative lists had been 

 drawn up, including photographic and darkroom equipment, power 

 supplies, and such miscellaneous items as binoculars, flashlights, 

 shovels, fire extinguishers, picks, and even rifles. What became in- 

 creasingly apparent was that each station would need to be a relatively 

 self-sustaining scientific laboratory located in an as yet unspecified 

 region with unknown problems of commmiication and transportation. 



THE VISUAL TRACKING PROGRAM 



Before precise predictions could be sent to the Baker- Nunn stations 

 so that they could make optical observations, preliminary orbital data 

 had to be obtained. The Smithsonian needed, therefore, to have 

 widely scattered around the globe many teams of visual observers who 

 could, using very approximate predictions, find the object and de- 

 termine its position to an accuracy within 1 degree of arc, and the 

 time to an accuracy within 1 second. From these data, predictions 

 precise enough for the Baker-Nunn stations could be derived. 



Dr. "\'\niipple knew that amateur astronomers could be depended 

 upon to take an interest in this kind of observing and do it satisfac- 

 torily. Since 1911 the American Association of Variable Star Ob- 

 servers had been contributing data requiring the skills that would be 

 needed to make preliminary observ^ations of satellites. Members of 

 the Astronomical League and the Western Amateur Astronomers were 

 among other amateurs who had been doing comparable observing tasks 

 for many years. Dr. Wliipple suggested that individuals drawn from 



