SATELLITE-TRACKING PROGRAM — HAYES 309 



permit the camera to operate down to within 15° of the horizon; the 

 roof would protect the camera during hours w^hen it was not in use 

 and during inclement weather, an especially important provision 

 because of the KzFS-2 glass used in the corrector cell. Arrangements 

 were made to obtain small prefabricated buildings from the Air Force 

 to house the power facilities, fuel, and maintenance tools. 



James Knight and Aubrey Stinnett were assigned the actual selec- 

 tion of the innumerable items required for the successful operation 

 of the stations. These included not only the beam antennas and 

 numerous items of electronic equipment, but also dozens of household 

 necessities, tools, and other essential supplies. 



By late spring of 1957 approximately 95 percent of all the material 

 required for the independent operation of the 12 satellite-tracking 

 stations had been received, cataloged, crated, and stored, and was 

 ready for shipment. By June all material and equipment except the 

 camera and the clock had been received at the Australia and Spain 

 stations, and from then on each station was in its turn set up for 

 operations preliminary to the arrival of the camera and clock. 



Probably as much as 10 tons of equipment was sent to each station, 

 all without the loss of any important item, and even without any 

 serious mishaps. There was a fire aboard a ship carrying equipment 

 to Japan, but it did very little damage. A truck was "lost" in Iran 

 for several months. 



The selection of the observers for the Baker-Nunn camera stations 

 presented as many and as difficult problems as the selection of the 

 sites and the acquisition of material. Drs. Whipple, Hynek, Henize, 

 and several other members of the Smithsonian staff, as well as Drs. 

 Frances Wright and Kichard McCrosky of the Harvard Meteor Pro- 

 gram, all took part in the selection of the first observers. In fact, at 

 times there were more interviewers than interviewees. 



The first task was to define precisely the kind of personality needed 

 for the operation of a station, and the skills required to make a success 

 of the optical observing program. There were as many different 

 opinions as there were interviewers. It turned out that neither edu- 

 cation nor past experience was the best criterion. The Harvard people 

 already knew that movie writers, artists, plumbers — in fact, almost 

 any type of person — might serve brilliantly as an observer if he had 

 the proper attitude and a certain basic intelligence and mechanical 

 aptitude. Wliat was needed was a person who had eagerness, en- 

 thusiasm, a spirit of adventure, and especially a sense of responsi- 

 bility — one who could impart to the interviewers the feeling that what 

 he most wanted to do was to photograph satellites. 



The first observers were essentially romantics, men who had a 

 common interest in this new age of satellites and an intense curiosity 



