Moon landing tracking station celebrates 50 years

The Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station, which played an instrumental role in broadcasting the first TV images of the moon landing, is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

The tracking station was established by NASA as part of the Manned Space Flight Network to support the Apollo mission.

Though the tracking station closed its doors for good in 1981, the dish from the site has been relocated to the CSIRO-managed Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex at Tidbinbilla, where it can still be viewed today.

“It placed the nation’s capital on the world stage and brought great economic success, infrastructure and, most importantly, strong friendships that remain today,” said Minister for the Environment and Heritage Mick Gentleman.

“It’s fantastic to see the profile of Honeysuckle continue to rise. Last year the ACT Heritage Council granted heritage status to the tracking station and this allows the community to appreciate this wonderful piece of ACT history.

“Our city has a rich and unique heritage that ranges from local Aboriginal history through to European pastoral use. Canberra — and, in particular, the Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station — has a sense of pride, place, identity and belonging from those who worked there to the millions of people who tuned in to watch the moon landing on their TV sets all those years ago,” said Gentleman.

Image courtesy of NASA

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