Planning, Operation and External Communications of the Andover Earth Station

The purpose of this paper is to describe the layout, operation, and external communications links of the Andover, Maine, earth station. This station was designed to provide the terminal facilities required for communications via artificial earth satellites. Complete facilities for orbit determination, tracking, and broadband microwave communications were included in order to obtain data which would be useful in the evaluation of designs for future operational systems. Experimental verification of the feasibility of communicating via satellites was, however, the primary goal. In this paper, various aspects of the Andover station are described in detail under the following headings: II. Site Planning, III. Operating Plan, IV. Power Facilities, V. Air Conditioning and Heating, VI. External Communications Requirements, and VII. Experimental Demonstrations The Andover ground station is situated in a 1000-acre tract surrounded by mountains. The site is nearly ideal since the mountains are high enough to protect against interference from overland microwave systems but low enough to permit proper operation when the satellite is near the horizon. 1383