Tracking space probes

Launch of Sputnik-1

Sputnik was launched into orbit by a R7 rocket - essentially Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile - the capabilities of which were of great interest to the West. The "beep-beep" radio signal from the probe itself could be picked up easily using an amateur radio set. However, to track the path of the upper stage of the rocket, something much more powerful was needed.

The Lovell Telescope

The Lovell Telescope was the only instrument in the Western World that was powerful enough to transmit a signal that could be bounced off the debris from the rocket and detect the faint echo. In the 48 hours after the news of Sputnik's launch, scientists at Jodrell Bank built a transmitter for the telescope and then attempted to pick up a signal. Just before midnight on 12th October 1957, a definite signal from the carrier rocket was located and tracked.

In 1959, the Lovell Telescope also confirmed to a sceptical world that the Soviet probe, Luna 2, had indeed reached the Moon and later commanded Pioneer 5, the United States' first successful deep space probe.