This is a story about a country of which huge areas were still under pioneer category of development when the first made man satellite was launched, heralding the commencement of the space age. Today the cattle industry, even in those remote areas nominated in my story, enjoy the benefits of the space age technology, but in the days of the very first launch,  cattle men and their women folk were still doing it tough in what has become known as the outback and the top end.  Then Isolated and communicative by pedal wireless and the odd telegraph line, it was developed by people of fortitude and endurance.  

The space age came upon us a little earlier than planned by western allies.  Although   American research had commenced into the Vanguard series of satellite, unexpectedly the USSR launch of its Sputnik 1 satellite caught everyone in the western world by surprise.

Although larger than the proposed Vanguard of the USA, it was by today’s technology quite small, being about basketball size (58 cm diameter and weighing in at 83.6 kg.) It was delivered into low orbit being approx. 577 kilometres.

My story relates to a situation in the gulf country of the Carpentaria Basin, where I was   privileged to have a representative of the outback and top end with me as I first witnessed sighting the first satellite that heralded in the commencement of the space age . His name was George. 

Jeff Lambert

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