First used as the earth station for the 1969 moon landing, the Jamesburg Earth Station was shut down in 2002 by owners AT&T and put up for sale. Fortunately, it was bought by a private investor who agreed to allow some Ham radio buffs to restore it. After months of work, the group fired up the 10-story high dish in February and bounced 20 radio signals off the moon. From Aviation Week:
The dish sits on a 160-acre site that's been subdivided for residential sale, so the restorers feel some urgency in trying to preserve it. Ideally, they'd like to see it returned to service, perhaps to support scientific and deep space missions. But they also think of it as an ideal location for a space camp for star-struck students.
Link to Aviation Week article, Link to Jamesburg Earth Station Home Page, More in the the March 23 issue of the Carmel Pinecone (PDF of part 1, PDF of part 2) (Thanks, Paul Saffo!)
