Descriptive Entry

This accession consists of records created and maintained by Simons documenting his participation on the Moonwatch Team and the local publicity he received. Materials include a report on the Team's work, clippings, instructions for tracking satellites, tracking data, and audio recordings of satellites.

Historical Note

Keneth A. Simons (March 10, 1913-June 14, 2004), ham radio operator and cable television and radio engineer worked for Bell Telephone Laboratories and later was a founding employee of Jerrold Electronics Corporation. In 1957, he became involved in the Bryn Athyn Moonwatch Team as a radio engineer. Moonwatch teams were established around the world by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Moonwatch Division, 1956-1975, to track and photograph artificial satellites. The Bryn Athyn Moonwatch Team was relatively unique in that it combined the use of radios and telescopes to track satellites. Simons was primarily involved in Doppler tracking the Sputnik satellites.