Island Lagoon Tracking Station
Donald C. Cocks gained an Associate Diploma in Radio Engineering from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
He initially spent several years in the Royal Australian Air Force, studying airborne radar and radio systems.
In 1954 Don Joined the Aeronautical Research Laboratories of the Australian Department of Supply, was assigned to the Flight Research Group in Melbourne.
His experience included responsibility for the development, installation, calibration and maintenance of mobile electronic data acquisition systems installed in laboratory and field installations, and military and research aircraft applications. This included assisting Dr. Dave Warren in the development and promotion of the Black Box Flight Recorder.
In 1965 Don transferred to DSS-41, Woomera. At DSS-41 he was in charge of the Instrumentation section until September 1967, when he was appointed as Station Director, Island Lagoon Station.
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Senior staff of DSS-41, circa October 1968.
Left to right:
1. Frank Williams, Space Track Pty. Ltd, Site Engineer.
2. Alan Harrison – Company Senior Rep., Space Track Pty. Ltd.
3. Alan Perriman – Dept of Supply, Section Leader, RF and Antenna.
4. Don Cocks, Station Director.
5. Peter Trost, Dept of Supply, Experimental Officer 3, Section Leader, Operations.
6. Robert Cotton, Dept of Supply, Asst Admin Officer.
7. Tony Legg – Dept of Supply, Experimental Officer 3, Section Leader of Data and Instrumentation.
Photo with thanks to Don Cocks via John Heath.
Scan and image repair by Colin Mackellar.
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This station comprised DSS-41 and a Baker-Nunn Camera installation, SC-23, which, since 1958, was operated by the Australian Department of Supply for the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Boston, Massachusetts, supplying photographic data on earth orbiting satellites.
Don remained Station Director until the station closed at the beginning of 1973.
