It was also upgraded to handle 56kbit data circuits for NASA.
Up to and including 1980 all the International Telegraph and Telephone that was available on the Island were carried via the SAT-1 cable to London and Cape Town This comprised of just 2 voice circuits with 1 Telex and Telegraph Circuit.
Left
and Right: Pictures of the control room in various stages over the yearsDecember 1978 saw the Island's Facilities rapidly expanded. Cable & Wireless commissioned a second antenna, providing more up to date systems and providing redundancy / diversity for NASA's communications.
NEC of Japan provided this station (in 1980) and was built to the Intelsat Standard B design. It is 33ft in Diameter.
The Station went to traffic on 6th February 1981 on a different Satellite (Intelsat IV) to AT&T's Andover and BT's Goonhilly Earth Stations.
It originally carried the 56k Data circuits from ASC-1N. Now both stations were helping NASA's with its new role, that of tracking Space Shuttle's, the first of which STS-1 being launched on 12th April 1981.
Right:- ASC-2D Earth Station
April 1982 brought the war with Argentina.
Ascension became the staging post for the UK military task force, who set up a camp on the island albeit a temporary one of tents.
Left:
The Earth Station on Donkey Plain (1980's)This of course forced the need for even more communications this time in the form of telephone, data, telex, telegrams and T.V.
Up till now TV had not been seen at the station, and the first transmission went out to Goonhilly on 27th April 1982 at 17:30. continuing until April 1983.
This period forced restrictions on all communications off the Island and the situation prevailed until 11th May for Telex and Telegrams and 25th May for Telephone calls.The forces eventually set up a permanent presence and added facilities to the Airfield increasing traffic again for the Company.
February 1985 brought another antenna to the Island, with the BBC fitting a receive only system for the World Service. Thus transferring their traffic from Cable and Wireless.
At this time ASC-1N was getting old and so it was decided it should be closed down. ASC-2B took over the main functions of the site on 11th April 1985. ASC-1N was deactivated and stowed on September 23rd 1985
after all uses for it had been completed.
Right:NEC
equipmentLeft: NASA equipment
At the same time the Goonhilly Earth Station was dropped in favour of British Telecom's Madley Earth Station.
The station continued to expand with more circuits and destinations being added.
In 1987 / 1988 yet another update of the island's communications was needed, this time a link to the island of St Helena (700 miles away to the South East of Ascension). Communications between the two was in the form of a HF Radio Link.
A study was completed to find the best solution. With the Island's telephone systems also being upgraded, an Earth Station solution was decided upon. This station would have an Identical one built in St Helena.
Again
NEC was commissioned with the work and the Islands took delivery of 2 Standard D
Earth Stations.They have a diameter of 22.5ft, and the 2 sites were installed again on Donkey Plain and the Briars in St Helena.
The first transmission was made from the later on 30th November 1989 at 16:41. The stations went to traffic in December 1989.
Above: ASC-4D1 Earth Station for St Helena
While this work was being completed ASC-2B was also having an upgrade with more modern equipment and wiring
At the end of the 1980's and with the start up again of the Shuttle Missions after the Challenger disaster, NASA decided to cut back on its operations and decided to close down its Devils Ashpit site. The doors closed in May 1990 for the last time, with operations being taken over by satellites called T.D.R.S. (Tracking Data and Relay System).
With NASA's Closure of it's site, the Ariane launchers needed a new way of being tracked.
Cable & Wireless were awarded the contract to run the tracking station for the European Space Agency. The site was installed by the french at a new site at North East Bay.
Its tracking and telemetry data is sent via the Donkey Plain Earth Station, but this time to France and on to French Guiana (via Earth Stations in france, Pleumer Bodou and Bercenay en Othe and French Guiana's Trou Biran).
Right: The ESA Tracking Station
This tracking system is used in conjunction with a facility at Comfortless Cove, providing Radar Telemetry.
The E.S.A. site should have completed its first tracking task on 22nd February 1990, but the launch failed 2 minutes after lift off at 00:56.
(AR44 Japanese payload. a ASTRO/NHK JAPAN BS2X).
The eventual flight it tracked first was on the 24th July 1990 (AR44LP with a Kopernikus TDF-2 communications satellite).