Bermudian technicians who worked in the Telemetry & Control (T & C) Building
Robert P. Burgess (Bob) May 67 - March 73. served as Electronics Technician in the Precision Measuring Equipment Lab and trained under U.S. supervisors Joe Wildman and Bob Chase. Later, Bob Burgess was transferred to the Station's Telemetry and Display Section headed up by U.S. supervisor Bob Dunham. Bob Burgess trained under U.S. technician Simon Dumas and duties included calibrating and maintaining control room equipment, working in the control room recording weather data, plotting radar present position, plotting space vehicle impact prediction, recording rocket engine thrust, yaw and pitch, recording astronaut biomedical data such as body temperature, pressure and pulse rate, recording scientific data from moon quakes. In November 1970, Mr Burgess received advanced studies in Telemetry Data concepts, RF Telemetry and PAM Telemetry at NASA's Manned Space Flight Network Training Facility, near Washington D.C. These courses were designed to develop the maintenance and operational skills of Telemetry technicians in support of Apollo lunar missions.
Randolph Douglas (Randy) 1961 - 1965 started in the Precision Measuring Equipment Lab under George Martan, he then moved to the telemetry area where he was taught about decom equipment. Randy worked with equipment racks and sometimes had to install cables in what he considered to be challenging clustophobic places. On special launches he recalls going to the Tudor Hill site in Southampton to set up and work with telemetry equipment. Randy feels that his experience at the Nasa Bermuda Tracking Station definitely prepared him for further advances in the field of electronics where he was able to move from a career in hardware to one in software.
Leslie Lynch (Les) was attached to spacecraft communications and took care of
transmissions between the spacecraft and the controllers at Houston. He wasresponsible for equipment that confirmed the voice transmissions being sent and received. When Houston was out of touch with the spacecraft, Bermuda received the Astronaut's voice which was relayed back to the centre. Leslie's equipment recorded the voice level and when he announced "Modulation is go" this signified Bermuda was in contact. Les recalls "It was a great feeling when the voice came through indicating the flight was going well. It was good because this was a most critical part of the flight."
Roger Oldfield April 8th, 1963 - July 21st, 1972. Roger worked in the Precision Measurement Equipment Lab, then in the Air-to-Ground Section, followed by the Command Section and lastly in the Telemetry Section. Roger enhanced his career by receiving special training in Solid State & Digital Devices - Dec 1966, Apollo Timing - October 1968 and PSK/Demodulator Technology October, 1971. In addition to the above achievements, Roger was appointed Distinguished Capable Tracker of Gemineers - Aug 26th, 1965, recognized as active participant in the Apollo VII Mission - Oct 1968, received recognition certificate of support of the Apollo VIII Mission - Dec, 1968, received Group Achievement Awards in March 18th, 1969, Apollo Achievement Awards Certificates July 20th, 1969 and Nov 1970, Letter of Appreciation - Nov 1971 and Certificate of Support of the Apollo XVI Mission, 1972.
Calvin Simons (Cal) April 1962 - April 1973. Cal started his career at NASA working in the Precision Measurement Equipment Lab then quickly advanced to Acquisition Aid Area. Later he attended numerous courses in advanced electronics at Goddard Space Flight Center's Test and Training Facility located in Greenbelt, Maryland. Assigned to the NASA Station's Telemetry Section, Calvin actively engaged in receiving and monitoring signals from the Apollo space craft. He was one of a team of technicians who commanded machines that received signals capable of recording everything from a battery voltage level in the spaceship to the heartbeat of an orbiting astronaut. The received signals provided ground controllers with information regarding the performance of both the space-craft and the astronauts. Calvin took a keen interest in computers and as a result, he was transferred to the 1218 Computer section where he gained valuable experience.
William Todd (Bill) 1963 - 1973 Bill started as an electronic technician in the Precision Measurement Equipment Lab, later he transferred to the Radar section where he gained valuable experience. See: Radar
