Scrapbook 3: 'Disappointing' Telstar Pictures in Britain

‘DISAPPOINTING’ TELSTAR PICTURES IN BRITAIN

TRACKING STATION FOUND TROUBLE WITH AERIAL

FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT NEW YORK, Wednesday.

REPORTS in New York to-day from American correspondents in London emphasise the disappointing quality of the reception at Goonhilly Downs of the first pictures from Telstar. Messages from Paris, on the other hand, said that reception on the coast of Brittany had been excellent.

In the New York Herald Tribune Mr. Richard C. Wald described the picture in Britain as “fuzzy, unsteady and bouncing.” He added that the hesitating picture of Mr. Frederick Kappel, chairman of the American Telephone and Telegraph company lasted for about one minute before the signal from America was cut off.

“Even that short picture was almost missed, as the tracking station had great difficulty in swinging the 121-ton aerial in the proper tracking orbit to pick up Telstar.” Mr. Wald stated.

“Although British engineers had hoped to catch the communications satellite as it came over the horizon at 12.45 a.m., they missed it until 1.02 a.m., as technicians nervously watched dials and radar-scopes that stared blankly back.”

“SOME DIFFICULTY’

Aerial steering

In the New York Times Mr. Seth King reported that for 14 minutes nothing was picked up. He quoted Mr. W. J. Bray, of the Post Office team at Goonhilly, as saying: “We are having some difficulty resolving the signal.

“We have not had experience yet in the art of steering the aerials to receive a signal from a moving satellite. However, you can see that we are making some progress.”

Of the reception in Brittany it was said that the pictures were so clear that the French station reported they appeared as if they had been sent by a station only 20 miles away.

American Telephone and Telegraph Company stock opened slightly higher on the New York Stock Exchange this morning and after about 45 minutes had risen more than one point.

This picture, shown on BBC television yesterday, was transmitted from Andover, Maine, and received in the early hours at Lannion, Brittany, after being relayed from the American satellite Telstar. Pictures flown to Paris and then broadcast on the Eurovision link to Britain showed technicians at Andover receiving the news from Lannion that the transatlantic transmission was successful.