There are still jobs in space tracking in Australia! And jobs in astronomy too. Henry Gilkens (a computer technician at Honeysuckle Creek) advises: ‘Any kid who shows an interest in space exploration should spend some time studying astronomy and in particular the structure of the solar system.’ (Put in an order for a small telescope on your Christmas list!)
If you are still interested when you finish high school, one or more of the following subjects should be included in your tertiary education: Astrophysics and Radiophysics, Electronics, Digital Communication (Data, Voice, Video).
Following are some good websites to find out more information about the stars, planets and space exploration.
A tribute to the Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station in Canberra, and all who worked there: www. honeysucklecreek.net.
The Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF) supports Australia’s research in radio astronomy. It is administered by the CSIRO, Australia’s national scientific research organisation of the Australian government. The ATNF operates the Australia Telescope which consists of the Compact Array and the Parkes and Mopra radio telescopes. The Compact Array is located at the Paul Wild Observatory near Narrabri, New South Wales and the Mopra Observatory is located near Coonabarabran, New South Wales: www.atnf.csiro.au.
The radio telescopes at Tidbinbilla, ACT, are operated by the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, part of NASA’s Deep Space Network. As part of the Host Country agreement with NASA, a fraction of time on the Tidbinbilla 70-metre antenna is available to the Australian astronomical community: www.atnf.csiro.au/observers/tidbinbilla.
The Australian National University’s Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics operates the Mount Stromlo Observatory near Canberra, ACT, and the Siding Spring Observatory, near Coonabarabran, New South Wales: rsaa.anu.edu.au.
The Anglo-Australian Observatory operates the Anglo-Australian and UK Schmidt telescopes on behalf of the astronomical communities of Australia and the United Kingdom. These telescopes are located at Siding Spring Observatory near Coonabarabran, New South Wales: www.aao.gov.au.
Or view Parke’s version of the Apollo story at www.parkes.atnf.csiro.au/apollo11.