Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station

Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station

. It is to cease satellite operations in 2008.

Its first dish, Antenna One (dubbed "Arthur"), was built in 1962 to link with Telstar. It was the first open parabolic design and is 25.9 metres in diameter and weighs 1,118 tonnes. Arthur received the first live transatlantic television broadcasts from the United States via the Telstar satellite on July 11, 1962. It is now a Grade II listed structure and is therefore protected. The site's largest dish, dubbed "Merlin", has a diameter of 32 metres. Other dishes include Guinevere, Tristan and Isolde after characters in Arthurian legend.

The earth station is powered by the national grid. If power fails, all essential equipment will run off huge batteries for 20 seconds, during which four one-megawatt diesel generators will kick in. The nearby wind generator farm is not part of the complex.

A visitor centre at the site attracts technically minded tourists. Inside, the Connected Earth gallery tells the history of satellite communications. Additionally there are many interactive exhibits, a cafe, a shop and one of Britain's fastest cyber-cafes (a one gigabit pipe and a theoretical maximum speed per iMac of 100Mbit). There are also tours around the main BT site and into the heart of Arthur.

On 12 September, 2006, BT announced it would shut down satellite operations at Goonhilly in 2008, and move them to Madley Communications Centre in Herefordshire, which will become BT's only earth station and the biggest in the world. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/5339776.stm]

At present, the site attracts around 80,000 visitors a year; it has also played a key role in communications events such as the Muhammad Ali fights, the Olympic Games, and 1985's Live Aid concert. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/nolpda/ifs_news/hi/newsid_5339000/5339776.stm]

Gallery

External links

* [http://www.goonhilly.bt.com/ Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station] The official BT Goonhilly site.
* [http://goonhilly.gallery.sytes.org/ Goonhilly Gallery] Photos in and around Goonhilly.
* [http://www.lookaroundcornwall.com/panos/goonhilly_arthur.htm Goonhilly Earth Station fullscreen QTVR panoramas]
* [http://www.cornwallinformation.com/things-to-do/attractions/future-world-at-goonhilly.php Goonhilly reviews] Visitor reviews & opinion.


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