The RCA Heritage Program at Rowan University

04/29/2026

07/16/2025

AN/FPQ-6 Radar¹ Console
The real-time data from this land-based C-band² skin-tracking radar gave NASA confirmation that Apollo spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral had achieved their planned orbits.
It was a 2.8 megawatt klystron³ radar developed by RCA's Missile and Surface Radar Division, capable of providing continuous spherical coordinate information at distances of 59,264 km with a radial range accuracy ±1.8 m an angular resolution of 0.1°. The 8.8 m diameter dish operated in the frequency band of 5.4–5.9 GHz and the transmitter was capable of a remarkable frequency stability of 1×10⁸ (10 MHz) and the receiving system provided simultaneous presentation of the skin and beacon returns to the console operators so that skin tracking could be used if the beacon signal was lost.
Engineers Brian Davies, Geoff Linthorne and Mick Coffey are at the controls of the FPQ-6 radar located at the Carnarvon Tracking Station⁴ in Australia 1969.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN/FPQ-6
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C_band_(IEEE)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klystron
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnarvon_Tracking_Station
Reference
https://honeysucklecreek.net/other.../carnarvon/fpq6.html

06/09/2025

In 1971, the RCA J-series Color Television Camera made its lunar debut aboard Apollo 15, capturing the Moon in color for the very first time. This advanced GCTA (Ground-Commanded Television Assembly) system flew again with Apollo 16 and Apollo 17, bringing vivid, moving images of the final Apollo missions back to Earth. With each mission, RCA technology added a new dimension to how the world experienced space exploration.

06/01/2025

TV is coming!

05/16/2025

The Most trusted name in Electronics.

04/01/2025

How RCA Changed the World - The History of RCA

From the creation of NBC and the first mass-produced television set, to the launch of the first communications satellite, the invention of the TFT LCD displa...

03/31/2025

In 1929, RCA acquired the Victor Talking Machine Company, the world’s largest producer of records and phonographs. This deal also secured the rights to Nipper, the famous dog listening to “His Master’s Voice.” Nipper quickly became the beloved symbol of RCA, representing quality sound for generations.