In the summertime of 1963 , the U.S.A. successfully position a gigantic band closed to the earth. But different Saturn , earth’s band was non made of dust , stone , as well as H2O ice , simply lean hair-like strands of copper wires—half a billion of them.
The wires , or needles , were business office of Project West Ford , which was an endeavour to strengthen the earth’s ionosphere as well as render the U.S.A. Military a jam-proof , fail-proof , as well as destruction-proof communication system.
Clumps of copper needles from Project West Ford nonetheless circle the earth. Image credit: stuffin.space
During the 1950s , long-range communications took house either through undersea cables or over-the-horizon radio where electromagnetic waves were bounced off the earth’s natural ionosphere. Undersea cables are reliable simply the fidelity of the ionosphere depends on the activeness of the sun; it’s routinely disrupted yesteryear solar flares. The U.S.A. was concerned that the should the Soviet laid on the undersea band lines , it would function out America alongside a rattling unpredictable communication organization that could endure disastrous from a armed forces standpoint.
So inward 1958 , a pioneering electrical engineer yesteryear the refer of Walter E. Morrow , at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory , proposed placing a belt of copper wires higher upward the earth. The copper wires would serve every bit a permanent radio reflector that would let Americans to bounce off radio waves towards bases located abroad piece remaining immune to solar disturbances.
480 1000000 copper needles were prepared for launch. Each needle was 1.8 cm long as well as measured less than the width of a human hair. The length corresponded to one-half the wavelength of the 8 GHz microwaves , effectively turning each filament into what is known every bit a dipole antenna. While individually tiny , when evenly dispersed , the needles were expected to bird a band orbiting three ,500 km higher upward the earth.
Needles from the West Ford projection compared to a postage stamp as well as a fingertip.
The offset endeavour made inward Oct 1961 to orbit the copper needles ended inward a failure. The needles failed to disperse , instead forming several useless clumps of wire floating closed to the earth. The minute endeavour on May 1965 was to a greater extent than successful—placing some 120-215 1000000 needles inward a sparsely concentrated belt closed to the Earth inward a polar orbit.
Within a few days , vocalism transmissions were successfully relayed betwixt California as well as Massachusetts. Initially , information was transmitted at a charge per unit of measurement of close xx kilo bits per minute , allowing for fairly “intelligible” vocalism transmission. But every bit the needles continued to disperse , the appointment charge per unit of measurement dropped off significantly. Four months afterwards , the capacity of the transmission was a measly 100 bits per second.
Since the early on days , Project West Ford faced potent opposition from astronomers closed to the public who were afraid that the copper wires may interfere straight alongside observations of the sky. Others defendant the U.S.A. of cluttering space.
The projection eventually got shelved yesteryear a combination of the system’s less than stellar functioning as well as the rapid evolution inward a to a greater extent than reliable as well as higher capacity long distance communication system—the modern communications satellite. In 1962 , Telstar , the offset modern communications satellite , was launched. It transmitted goggle box signals across the Atlantic for 2 hours a day.
More than a one-half a century afterwards , clumps of copper needles nonetheless orbit the Earth far overhead , although the bulk of them accept fallen dorsum to earth. Being thence low-cal weight , they did non move upward inward the atmosphere. Many straight off prevarication beneath snowfall at the poles.
Sources: Wikipedia / The Harvard Crimson / Damn Interesting / Wired