Project West Ford#Launches
{{short description|Experimental space-based radio communication project}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2021}}
File:West Ford Needles and Stamp.jpg
Project West Ford (also known as Westford Needles and Project Needles) was a test carried out by Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory on behalf of the United States military in 1961 and 1963 to create an artificial ionosphere above the Earth.{{cite magazine | url=https://www.wired.com/2013/08/project-west-ford/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107122231mp_/https://www.wired.com/2013/08/project-west-ford/ | archive-date=7 November 2018 | title=The Forgotten Cold War Plan That Put a Ring of Copper Around the Earth | publisher=Wired Magazine | date=13 August 2013 | access-date=18 December 2013 | author=Hanson, Joe| magazine=Wired }} This was done to solve a major weakness that had been identified in military communications.
History
At the height of the Cold War, all international communications were either sent through submarine communications cables or bounced off the natural ionosphere. The United States military was concerned that the Soviets might cut those cables, forcing the unpredictable ionosphere to be the only means of communication with overseas forces.
To mitigate the potential threat, Walter E. Morrow started Project Needles at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory in 1958. The goal of the project was to place a ring of 480,000,000
{{citation |first1=I. I. |last1=Shapiro |first2=H. M. |last2=Jones |last3=Perkins |first3=C.W. |title=Orbital properties of the West Ford dipole belt |journal=Proceedings of the IEEE |volume=52 |issue=5 |date=May 1964 |pages=469–518 |doi=10.1109/proc.1964.2992}} (Abstract){{citation | url = https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4217/ch8.htm | title = Chapter 8: Thirty Years of Space Communications Research and Development at Lincoln Laboratory | access-date = 2022-07-26 | first1 = William W. | last1 = Ward | first2 = Franklin W. | last2 = Floyd | date = 1997 | publisher = NASA}} copper dipole antennas in orbit to facilitate global radio communication. The dipoles collectively provided passive support to Project West Ford's parabolic dish (located at the Haystack Observatory in the town of Westford) to communicate with distant sites.
The needles used in the experiment were {{convert|1.78|cm|in}} long and {{convert|25.4|μm|thou|lk=on}} [1961] or {{convert|17.8|μm|thou}} [1963] in diameter.
{{citation | title = West Ford Project, Interference to Astronomy from Belts of Orbiting Dipoles (Needles)
| last1 = Lovell
| first1 = A. C. B.
| author1-link = Bernard Lovell
| last2 = M.
| first2 = Ryle
| author2-link = Martin Ryle
| first3 = D. E.
| last3 = Blackwell
| last4 = Wilson
| first4 = R.
| date = June 1962
| journal = Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society
| volume = 3
| page = 100
| bibcode = 1962QJRAS...3..100L
| title = Modeling of copper needle clusters from the West Ford Dipole experiments
| last1 = Wiedemann
| first1 = C.
| last2 = Bendisch
| first2 = J.
| last3 = Krag
| first3 = H.
| last4 = Wegener
| first4 = P.
| last5 = Rex
| first5 = D.
| journal = Proceedings of the Third European Conference on Space Debris
| editor1-last = Sawaya-Lacoste
| editor1-first = Huguette
| volume = 1
| publication-place = Noordwijk, Netherlands
| place = Darmstadt, Germany
| publisher = ESA Publications Division
| isbn = 92-9092-733-X
| pages = 315–320
| date = March 19–21, 2001
| publication-date = October 2001
| bibcode = 2001ESASP.473..315W
}} The length was chosen because it was half the wavelength of the 8 GHz signal used in the study. The needles were placed in medium Earth orbit at an altitude of between {{convert|3500|and(-)|3800|km|mi}} at inclinations of 96 and 87 degrees.
File:Westford dipole dispenser + canister, Udvar-Hazy Center.jpg]]
A first attempt was launched on 21 October 1961, during which the needles failed to disperse.{{Cite web |title=MIDAS 4 |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1961-028A |website=NSSDCA Master Catalog}}{{Cite web |title=West Ford Needles |url=https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/westford.htm |access-date=2024-11-10 |website=Gunter's Space Page |language=en}} The project was eventually successful with the 9 May 1963 launch, with radio transmissions carried by the manufactured ring.{{Cite web |title=MIDAS 6 |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1963-014A |website=NSSDCA Master Catalog}} However, the technology was ultimately shelved, partially due to the development of the modern communications satellite and partially due to protests from other scientists.{{citation
| url = http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=516
| title = Earth's Artificial Ring: Project West Ford
| access-date = 2006-10-16
| first = Anthony
| last = Kendall
| date = May 2, 2006
| publisher = DamnInteresting.com
}}
British radio astronomers, optical astronomers, and the Royal Astronomical Society protested the experiment.{{citation
| url = http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/space/terrill.pdf
| title = The Air Force Role in Developing International Outer Space Law
| last1 = Terrill Jr.
| first1 = Delbert R.
| journal = Air Force History and Museums Program
| publisher = Air University Press
| location = Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama
| date = May 1999
| page = 63
| access-date = October 16, 2006
| archive-date = April 17, 2018
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180417023607/http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/space/terrill.pdf
| url-status = dead
| url = https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4217/intro.htm
| title = Beyond the Ionosphere: The Development of Satellite Communications
| series = The NASA History Series
| publisher = NASA
| work = history.nasa.gov
| editor1-last = Butrica
| editor1-first = Andrew J.
}}{{Cite journal |last=Bondi |first=H. |date=June 1962 |title=West Ford Project, Introductory Note by the Secretary |journal=Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society |volume=3 |issue=99 |bibcode=1962QJRAS...3...99.}} The Soviet newspaper Pravda also joined the protests under the headline "U.S.A. Dirties Space".{{Cite news |date=October 22, 1961 |title=Protests Continue Abroad |work=The New York Times |pages=12 |issn=0362-4331}} The International Academy of Astronautics regards the experiment as the worst deliberate release of space debris.{{citation
| url = https://www.esa.int/About_Us/ESA_Publications/ESA_monographs_SPs/ESA_SP-1301_i_Space_Debris_Mitigation_Implementing_Zero_Debris_Creation_Zones_i
| location = Paris, France
| edition = Final Issue Approved for Publication
| title = Position Paper on Space Debris Mitigation - Implementing Zero Debris Creation Zones
| journal = International Academy of Astronautics
| date = October 12, 2005
| publication-date = October 15, 2005
}}
At the time, the issue was raised in the United Nations where the then United States Ambassador to the United Nations Adlai Stevenson defended the project.{{citation
| last = Teltsch
| first = Kathleen
| publication-date = June 16, 1963
| date = June 15, 1963
| title = 6 Soviet Space Failures Believed To Have Been Probes of Planets
| periodical = The New York Times
| place = United Nations, NY
| page = 2
| issn = 0362-4331
}} Stevenson studied the published journal articles on Project West Ford. Using what he learned on the subject and citing the articles he had read, he successfully allayed the fears of most UN ambassadors from other countries. He and the articles explained that sunlight pressure would cause the dipoles to only remain in orbit for a short period of approximately three years. The international protest ultimately resulted in a consultation provision included in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.
Although the dispersed needles in the second experiment removed themselves from orbit within a few years, some of the dipoles that had not deployed correctly remained in clumps, contributing a small amount of the orbital debris tracked by NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office.{{citation
| last = Cooney
| first = Michael
| date = 2013-10-29
| title = NASA: On millions of teeny-tiny copper hairs and orbital debris
| periodical = Network World
| url = http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/nasa-millions-teeny-tiny-copper-hairs-and-orbital-debris
| access-date = 2013-10-31
| date = October 2013
| title = West Ford Needles: Where are They Now?
| periodical = Orbital Debris Quarterly News
| publisher = NASA Orbital Debris Program Office
| volume = 17
| issue = 4
| pages = 3–4
| url = http://www.orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/Quarterly-News/pdfs/ODQNv17i4.pdf
| access-date = 2016-08-13
}} Their numbers have been diminishing over time as they occasionally re-enter. {{As of|2023|04}}, 44 clumps of needles larger than 10 cm were still known to be in orbit.{{citation |title=Space Track |url=https://www.space-track.org/documentation#/faq |postscript=, checked the database by searching for 'westford' (registration required for database access). |access-date=2023-04-04}}{{citation
| url = http://satlist.nl/RAE/RAE1963.doc
| title = RAE Table of Earth Satellites
| date = January 20, 2008
| page = 34
| quote = 148 pieces, 94 have decayed
| publisher = Royal Aerospace Establishment / Defence Research Agency
| publication-place = Farnborough, England
| place = Medemblik, The Netherlands
| editor1-last = Barhorst
| editor1-first = L.J.C.
}}
Launches
| class="wikitable" | |||||
| Satellite | COSPAR | Date | Launch site | Launch vehicle | Launched in conjunction with |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Ford 1 | 1961 αδ 3 | 1961-10-21 | rowspan="3" | SLC-3E | rowspan="3" | Atlas-LV3 Agena-B | MiDAS 4{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-QpoZaM4twoC&pg=PR184 |title = Space Law: Basic Legal Documents|isbn = 9780792300915|last1 = Böckstiegel|first1 = Karl-Heinz|last2 = Benkö|first2 = Marietta|year = 1990| publisher=Eleven International }}{{Cite web |title=Westford Needles |url=http://www.astronautix.com/w/westfordneedles.html |access-date=2024-11-10 |website=www.astronautix.com}} |
| displayed text
| West Ford-Drag | 1962 κ 5 | 1962-04-09 | MiDAS 5 | ||
| West Ford 2 | 1963-014H | 1963-05-09 | MiDAS 6, Dash 1, TRS 5, TRS 6 |