Missile Programme
p. 32 · Read in the full issue
For New Hebrides
The New Hebrides concerned in a missile programme? It sounds like a wild fantasy, but in fact the New Hebrides have recently become con nected, somewhat remotely, with basic research, one of the results of which will be that intercontinental missiles can be aimed more accurately.
A party from the British Army, led by Major John Underwood of the Royal Engineers, arrived in Vila on April 16 to take part in a world-wide satellite “triangulation” programme being carried out by the US Coast and Geodetic Survey.
The party will take photographs of the satellite, PAGEOS (short for Passive Geodetic Earth Orbiting Satellite), an aluminium balloon with a 100 ft diameter.
Other photographs will be taken at Pago Pago, Thursday Island, In vercargill, Zamboanga and Japan, The year’s programme in basic re search will provide more information about the exact shape of the earth and will enable basic triangulation points in any country of the earth to be related exactly to basic triangu lation points in other countries.
The photographs will be taken from a site on Bauer airfield; equip ment will reach Vila on a US air force Cl3o Hercules aircraft.