SATELLITE-TRACKING PROGRAM — HAYES 



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The contribution that Moonwatch had made to the IGY and IGC 

 was recognized in a series of awards that were given to teams, in- 

 dividual Moonwatchers, and to sponsors and other individuals 

 who had participated. The awards were in the form of Moon- 

 watch emblem pins, printed certificates, and letters of commendation. 

 By mid-1959, more than 4,000 pins and 8,000 certificates had been 

 awarded, and Moonwatch headquarters in Cambridge had forwarded 

 to the IGY National Committee recommendations for achievement 

 certificates to some 50 Moonwatch teams and for 205 other awards 

 to individuals who had made outstanding contributions. These were 

 duly made. 



OBSERVATIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS OF MOONWATCH 



What the Observatory required from each Moonwatch team was 

 a message giving the time and position of a satellite during transit over 

 the site. Although these observational data needed to be as accurate 

 as possible, they did not have to be obtained by any particular observ- 

 ing technique so long as the procedures provided data in the right 

 format and the team exercised caution in the choice of methods. 



Table 1 lists the number of Moonwatch observations of each satel- 

 lite launched from October 1957 through June 1959. Some of these 

 observations were quite remarkable achievements, and a number of 

 them provided imique data for research and analysis at Cambridge. 



On April 13, 1958, dozens of Moonwatch teams were alerted to 

 observe the demise of Sputnik II. Sightings of the satellite in its 

 descent were made by teams in Millbrook, N. Y. ; New Haven, Conn. ; 

 and Bryn Athyn, Pa. ; final observations were made from ships and 

 islands in the Caribbean as the satellite plunged to its death near 

 the northern coast of South America. This dramatic occurrence was 

 recounted by Dr. Luigi Jacchia in the Observatory's Special Report 

 No. 15. 



Table 1. — Moonwatch Observations, October 1957 to June 1959 



