Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Satellite Tracking Program Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Note:
This series consists of records documenting the administration and operation of the Satellite Tracking Program's (STP) original 12 tracking stations and the Meteor
Simulation Project station at Wallops Island, Virginia. Records include correspondence and memoranda, reports, and technical data concerning satellite tracking operations;
station personnel; budget and fiscal matters; construction and maintenance of station buildings; special projects conducted at the stations; and the procurement of equipment
and supplies.
The records appear to be the primary station records of STP from its inception in 1956 until 1961 and consist of the original records sent from each station to the Photographic
Observation Section of STP. When STP was reorganized in 1961, the original records relating to the administration and operation of the stations were kept by the newly created
Station Operations Division (see Series 2 and 3), and copies of the records continued to be sent to this file until 1965.
Arrangement of the records is complicated and retrieval is difficult. Records from stations in Argentina, Curacao, Florida, Hawaii, India, Iran, and Peru are arranged in
two different manners. Prior to 1961, the records are arranged in incoming and outgoing series and chronologically thereunder. Records from 1961 to 1965 are arranged in the
SAO numerical-subject filing system. Files on stations in Australia, Japan, New Mexico, South Africa, Spain, and Wallops Island are arranged entirely in the numerical-subject
system (see appendix 1 in the Archives).
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 263, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Satellite Tracking Program, Satellite Tracking Station Records
