Bedford, MA: Project Space Track formed
Two German emigrants founded Project Space Track at the Air Force Cambridge Research Center in Bedford, Massachusetts on November 29, 1957. Its purpose was to track and compute the orbits of artificial satellites and space probes of all nations.
Background
Event
On November 29, 1957, the German emigrants G. R. Miczaika and Eberhart W. Wahl founded Project Space Track in Building 1535 of the Geophysics Research Directorate at the Air Force Cambridge Research Center at Hanscom AFB in Bedford, Massachusetts. This came in the Cold War context following the launch of Sputnik.
Participants
G. R. Miczaika and Eberhart W. Wahl, both German specialists, initiated the project. It was run under the direction of the Air Research and Development Command (ARDC).
Mission
The project was to calculate the orbits of all artificial objects in orbit, including satellites, probes, launch vehicles, and space debris from the USA and the Soviet Union. It used interferometers, Doppler radar, and filter centres to collect data.
Significance
As a military space surveillance programme it marked the beginning of systematic US monitoring of space. It developed into the National Space Surveillance Control Center (NSSCC) and supplied data to NORAD. Its relevance to the UAP timeline lies in the potential for confusion with unidentified objects.