Attractions in Carnarvon
Carnarvon Earth Tracking Station – the OTC Dish and Carnarvon Space and Technology Museum
One of the most popular attractions in Carnarvon is the Carnarvon Space and Technology Museum. Located 10 km south of Carnarvon is the Carnarvon Space Tracking Station. The station was built as a combined Australian-American project with the assistance of NASA.
It was completed in 1966 and was used extensively during the various NASA moon projects. The dish weighs 300 tonnes and is 29.6 metres in diameter. It was the base which gave the command for the Trans Lunar Insertion (TLI) which sent the Apollo missions to land on the moon.
On 20 July 1969 Neil Armstrong stepped out of Apollo 11 onto the moon and famously said: “One small step for man. One giant leap for mankind”. Those words were relayed to the world via the tracking station.
Between 1964-1975 the tracking station was vital to the Mercury, Gemini, Skylab and Apollo missions launched by NASA and, at its peak, employed 220 people. It was eventually closed in 1987 after being used to track Halley’s comet.
Today it is home to the Carnarvon Space and Technology Museum which takes visitors back to a time when the station was a vital part of the space race. It took seven years for the volunteers to collect the memorabilia and equipment which allows visitors a unique opportunity to be part of the tracking station during the 1960s.
It was opened in 2014. Today the museum is open seven days a week from 9.00 am – 4.00 pm April to September and from 10.00 am – 2.00 pm October to March. Check out http://www.carnarvonmuseum.org.au/ for more details.
Address: Mahoney Avenue, Carnarvon
Phone: 908) 9941 9901
Gwoonwardu Mia Aboriginal Heritage and Cultural Centre
Opened in 2009 the Aboriginal Heritage and Cultural Centre combines a:
- cafe (which serves bush tucker),
- an art space, a retail space where artefacts can be purchased,
- an interactive interpretative exhibition where local people tell their stories (Old People Talking) and
- a botanical garden and walking trail where the visitor can identify indigenous plants.
It is open Monday to Friday from 9.00 am – 4.00 pm.
Address: 146 Robinson Street, Carnarvon
Phone: (08) 9941 1989.
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Carnarvon NASA Tracking Station, Brown Range WA, Australia
TodayOpen Now~- Monday09:00 - 17:00
- Tuesday09:00 - 17:00
- Wednesday09:00 - 17:00
- Thursday09:00 - 17:00
- Friday09:00 - 17:00
- Saturday09:00 - 17:00
- Sunday09:00 - 17:00
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