December
1978 saw the Island's Facilities rapidly expanded.
Cable & Wireless now commissioned
a second antenna, providing for more up to date
systems and giving much needed
redundancy / diversity for NASA's
communications needs.Left: NEC STD B Earth Station on Ascension (ASC-2B)
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 (CLICK HERE) and BT's Goonhilly (CLICK HERE) Earth Stations.
Right:
The Transmit and Receive Cone inside the dish of ASC-2BIt 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.
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.