Project West Ford

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. This was done to solve a major weakness that had been identified in US military communications.

At the height of the Cold War, all international communications were either sent through undersea cables or bounced off of 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. So, a ring of 3.5e|8 copper dipole antennas (1.78cm long and 25.4μm (1961) and 17.8μm (1963) diameter needles)citation
title = West Ford Project, Interference to Astronomy from Belts of Orbiting Dipoles (Needles)
last1 = Lovell
first1 = A. C. B.
last2 = Blackwell
first2 = M. Ryle
last3 = D. E.
last4 = Wilson
first4 = R.
year = 1962
date = June 1962
journal = Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society
volume = 3
page = 100
url = http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1962QJRAS...3..100L] citation
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
year = 2001
date = March 19-21, 2001
publication-date = October 2001
url = http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001ESASP.473..315W] was placed in orbit to allow global radio communication. The dipoles collectively provided passive support to Project West Ford's parabolic dish (located in the town of Westford) to communicate with distant sites.

After a failed first attempt launched on October 21, 1961 (the needles failed to disperse), the project was eventually successful with the May 9, 1963 launch, with radio transmissions carried by the man-made ring. However, the technology was ultimately shelved, partially due to the development of the modern communications satellite and partially due to protests from other scientists.cite web
url = http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=516
title = Earth's Artificial Ring: Project West Ford
accessdate = 2006-10-16
first = Anthony
last = Kendall
date = May 2, 2006
publisher = DamnInteresting.com] The needles were placed in orbits between 3500 and 3800 km high at 96 and 87 degree inclinations and contributed to Earth's orbital debris.citation
url = http://iaaweb.org/iaa/Studies/spacedebrismitigation.pdf
publisher = International Academy of Astronautics
publication-place = 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
year = 2005
date = October 12 2005
publication-date = October 15 2005] British radio astronomers, together with optical astronomers and the Royal Astronomical Society, protested this action.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
publication-place = Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama
year = 1999
date = May 1999
page = 63
chapter = Project West Ford] citation
url = http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4217/intro.htm
title = Beyond the Ionosphere: The Development of Satellite Communications
chapter = Introduction
series = The NASA History Series
publisher = NASA
work = history.nasa.gov
editor1-last = Butrica
editor1-first = Andrew J.] citation
title = West Ford Project, Introductory Note by the Secretary
last1 = Bondi
first1 = H.
year = 1962
date = June 1962
journal = Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society
volume = 3
page = 99
url = http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1962QJRAS...3...99.] The Russian communist paper Pravda also joined the protests under the headline "U.S.A. Dirties Space".Citation
last =
first =
author-link =
publication-date = October 23 1961
date = October 22 1961
year = 1961
title = Protests Continue Abroad
periodical = The New York Times
series =
place = London
publisher = Reuters
volume =
issue =
page = 12
url =
issn = 1674510
doi =
oclc =
accessdate = 2008-04-17] The issue was raised in the United Nations where then UN Ambassador Adlai Stevenson defended the project.citation
last = Teltsch
first = Kathleen
author-link =
publication-date = June 16 1963
date = June 15 1963
year = 1963
title = 6 Soviet Space Failures Believed To Have Been Probes of Planets
periodical = The New York Times
series =
place = United Nations, NY
publisher =
volume =
issue =
page = 2
url =
issn = 1521970
doi =
oclc =
accessdate = 2008-04-17] 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 exhibited by the vast majority of 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. Contrary to the project's supporter's claims, as of 2008, several clumps of the needles are still in orbit,citation
url = http://web.archive.org/web/20070312200131/http://www.aoe.vt.edu/~cdhall/Space/archives/000289.html
title = West Ford dipoles
last1 = Hall
first1 = Christopher D.
publication-place = Blacksburg, Virginia
publisher = Virginia Tech Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering
year = 2003
date = September 18 2003
quote = many clumps of the needles are indeed still in orbit] and occasionally re-entering.citation
url = http://satlist.nl/RAE/RAE1963.doc
title = RAE Table of Earth Satellites
year = 2008
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.]

References

External links

* [http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=516 Article on Project West Ford]