SATELLITE-TRACKING PROGRAM — HAYES 329 



The observers were not theoreticians. Their interest was chiefly 

 applied ratlier than pure science. Only one of them, Dr. Kozai, was 

 successful both as a tracker of satellites and as an analyzer of data. 

 After a period at the station in Japan, he joined the staff at Cambridge 

 and achieved significant results in the use of observations in studies 

 of the upper atmosphere and of the geopotential. 



As additional observers joined the program, the work at each station 

 became more and more a team effort, so that in addition to the minimum 

 level of technical competence, there developed the need for people to 

 work together, and for someone to guide and direct them. From this 

 change emerged the concept of a chief who bore responsibility for the 

 running of the station. Further, there developed necessarily a basic 

 routine for getting things done and at the same time a loss of some 

 of the romantic thrill that had resulted from accomplishing single- 

 handedly the seemingly impossible. This was to result in major 

 changes later in the kind of person needed in the program. 



One of the most interesting aspects of the field program was the 

 evolution of a kind of migratory system. Observers moved from one 

 station to another, and often spent some time doing work at head- 

 quarters in Cambridge. This crossfertilization was a deliberate effort 

 on the part of the people in Cambridge to make the observers see the 

 program as a whole and to understand the needs at headquarters as 

 well as the needs in the field. As a consequence, there came about a 

 better rapport between the two groups. 



Learning in the field was in many ways a unique experience in this 

 day and age. The group had to adjust to an often trying situation, 

 had constantly to be developing new techniques, and to find related or 

 allied interests at the station, such as geology, seismology, and arche- 

 ology, to occupy their spare time profitably as the workload at the 

 station became less burdensome. 



The attitude of the observer toward his job was, of course, of crucial 

 importance. At some stations there tended to be an unhealthy compe- 

 tition among the observers, which led to friction that interfered with 

 the productivity of the group. Frequently there had to be a shake- 

 do^^Ti period when new observers arrived, a time durmg which the 

 energies devoted to internal dissension had instead to be directed 

 toward the job at hand. 



Yet, there was always a great sense of responsibility among the 

 observers so that in spite of some personal friction and despite the 

 fact that the early staff was small, no station ever went unmanned. 



Not only did the observers have to learn to live and work together ; 

 they also had to learn to live and work with local people. At a number 

 of stations, the experiences of the nationals with Americans had been 

 limited to military missions and to commercial enterprises. The 

 personnel of the Baker-Nunn camera station proved a refreshing 



