Building Community Newsletter July 22, 2000

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Pine Gap: America's Tribute To Nikola Tesla

Back in 1978, I was the first author to reveal any details about Pine Gap in my book, The Cosmic Conspiracy. I drew upon newspaper articles and intelligence I had gained in a passive manner prior to that time. About 90% of the websites which discuss Pine Gap today quote my original statements (although without a credit line). However, I know where they got their information as does anyone who has read pages 24-26 of my book.

Although I do know a great deal about the Pine Gap Facility and its inner workings, I do not feel that it serves the best American and Australian interests to divulge everything I know about it purely for the sake of kudos.

My reasoning is purely selfish; we don't them to blow up one of our best intelligence and defense facilities. In the current geopolitical climate, it would not be advisable to give out information about this base enabling a foreign enemy power to more easily impact or neutralize its functions.

There is no rule that says "secrecy," per se, is sinister - although it can be. For some strange reason, many Australians felt they should have been told the innermost secrets of Pine Gap. They really did not need to know anything more than what the Government told them at the time, and that was for their own good.

A former Prime Minister of Australia, Gough Whitlam, was even "sacked" (fired) in 1975 when he threatened to remove Pine Gap and the other US bases in Australia if America did not let him down inside "Area (A)" - the most restricted section of the Base. Since it was well-known that the Labor Party of that era had strong communist support from Russia it left no option but to deny him and his party access to the base. This was not sinister. It was simply the strategic priority of the time.

LEGALLY ESTABLISHING PINE GAP

Although the discussions of creating such a base transpired as far back as 1964, the Pine Gap Facility was not formally established until the 9th of December 1966 under the terms of the Joint Defense Space Research Facility (JDSRF) Treaty made between Australia and the United States. The American agency in charge of the project at that time was the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) which eventually was renamed to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Later, the term of this treaty was extended in 1977 for another 10 years. Then in 1988, significant alterations were made changing all references to the primary function of the JDSRF as one of Defence Intelligence gathering and processing.

The treaty was recently reviewed for tenure extension in 1998 by a special committee in the Australian Parliament. The statements and findings of this committee are worth reading. It gives one an appreciation for the value of this "space base".

LOCATING AND BUILDING PINE GAP

The first task of the ARPA team was to select the exact spot in which the primary transmitter of the Base would need to be placed for maximum broadcast efficiency and other factors. This required flying a twin-engine plane in circles for a month around a wire dangling beneath a floating balloon in Pine Gap Valley.

You see, certain types of "Tesla" coil power transformers are also transmitters of their power. They can transmit a wave of power around the Earth like a splash ring on a floating ball of Jell-o (jelly). When that wave reaches the opposite side of the planet, it comes together to form a fountain of energy in a single spot. Then the energy of the wave reflects back around the planet in a ring-shaped wave which returns to the transmitter.

A basic Tesla coil like the photo on the right (click here for large photo) can be made using a couple of coils of wire which are wound where one stimulates the other magnetically, plus a couple of capacitors (devices that can store electricity in a static form) and a component to create vibrating currents in those coils and capacitors.

This wave can get very big and powerful if the transmitter issues anew pulse of power just as the wave returns form the other side of the planet.

This is a process known as "tuning the wave to the primary resonant frequency of the Earth." So it was very important to locate the Tesla Coil at the best place to generate a tuned wave which would cross the planet at least 7 times each second, and more, as required.Photo from Stan's private Tesla collection.

This type of coil was popularized by the late and well known Dr. Nikola Tesla in 1899 when he built one that was about the same size as the one at Pine Gap, below, right. (click for larger image). The photo on the left is Tesla's global Tesla coil antenna and on the right is what appears to be Pine Gap's. (click for larger image)

To create Pine Gap, several large American corporations were selected. Collins Radio of Texas, IBM, E-Systems (computing and software) and the "mega aerospace corporation" TRW were among the prime contractors chosen for what became a billion dollar project.

After the exact spot had been chosen to erect the aerial for that Tesla coil transmitter like some silent and flagless flagpole, a deep "water well" had to be dug directly underneath the spot. The well went down over 5 miles. It was, by far, the deepest water well ever dug in Australia. The well still supplies enormous amounts of water from an almost inexhaustible fresh water aquifer below Australia. The well also provided an electrical ground path for the Tesla transmitter.

After the well had been drilled, an underground power station and computer rooms had to be built. The main computing and power sections were mounted on gigantic springs to absorb seismic disturbances as well as nuclear strikes. The "wire" used in those springs was over 10 inches in diameter. All the critical systems were put on floating platforms - somewhere underground.

The initial, subterranean base "swallowed up enough concrete to build a multistory parking lot," as one of the contractors said at the time. However, that concrete was only used for the starting structures. Later, large diameter tunnels were added to facilitate transport and communications between elements underground.
These tunnels were of the same type manufactured in America for the underground nuclear R&D bases in the western states of Nevada and New Mexico. I had two relatives by marriage on my mother's side that actually worked in these tunnels for the Government. In the early years of the nuclear testing programs, the tunnels were only about 30 feet in diameter. More recently they have been made at about 100 feet in diameter. The cutting heads for the bigger ones had to be assembled in either the vertical or the horizontal position that they would be cutting in. Otherwise they would deform under their own weight if rotated to up or down.

PINE GAP'S PRIMARY MISSION

Pine Gap's primary mission was to serve as the downlink (the intelligence receptacle) for a series of multipurpose geosynchronous SIGINT (signals and intelligence gathering) satellites.

Pine gap was in involved in satellite projects: 949, 647 ("bigbird"), 467 and 1010 ("Keyhole" or "KH-11"). These were part of the early warning system always on the look out for ICBM's (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles) and SLBM's (Space Launch Ballistic Missiles). Project 647 had high resolution cameras on board which could show a golf ball on a putting green from orbit. Later the cameras could read newspaper headlines from orbit.

The CIA gave Pine Gap the code name of "Merino" in those early days. Doubtless that designation has long since disappeared after it was made public in the Christopher Boyce spy trial.

Pine Gap has defensive mechanisms which could protect the entire continent of Australia. Furthermore, its intelligence gathering facilities are essential to the American early warning system for missile attack from Russia, China, Korea and the Middle Eastern Muslim nations.... and to the detection and tracking of other "UFOs".

SIMILARITY TO BUCKLEY AIRFIELD IN COLORADO

The base hardware above ground resembles the Buckley Airfield in Colorado. It includes huge, round geodesic domes which each shield radio transceiver dishes that look like radar dishes. (Pictured below.)

There is a "no fly" zone of 4 km (2.5 miles) in radius around the Pine Gap Facility. This is to prevent unauthorized monitoring of the Base as well as to protect the lives of those who might stray into that airspace at the wrong time. Violation of that "no fly" zone could result in the immediate destruction of the aircraft either by defensive weapons or by "circumstance." The dense electromagnetic fields around the Base when that Tesla coil transmitter is working can cause electrical systems to fail onboard most aircraft and some ground vehicles within that "no fly" zone.

Local land holders around Pine Gap have agreed not to allow unauthorized visitors access to their properties. Most of the photos shown in this newsletter were taken outside that "no fly" zone radius. Some, however, were taken at a closer range and published with the permission of the Government.

ALL IS NOT WHERE IT APPEARS

The surface entrance and the obvious radomes (white balls) are located about 19 km southwest of Alice Springs at Laura Creek in a valley called Pine Gap. Pine Gap Valley, itself, is a natural basin formed by rocky outcroppings in the MacDonnell ranges. The latitude and longitude of the Valley are roughly: 23 degrees 48 minutes south by 133 degrees and 43 minutes east.

There is a significant portion of the Pine Gap Facility that is located underground; and there is a very good reason for this. Consider this: If you were in charge of hiding one of your country's most vital bases would you put it above ground and paint a big target symbol on it? The Pine Gap Facility (wherever it really is) can withstand a direct nuclear strike and be operational within a short time.

EARLY REPORTS OF FLYING SAUCER R & D AT PINE GAP

In The Cosmic Conspiracy (first printed in 1978) I reported the following:

"The Nation Review - a national Australian newspaper, had some interesting things to say about Pine Gap in their May 17-23 issue of 1974:

"The Pine Gap research facility near Alice Springs has managed to keep secret, until now one of the most unbelievable research projects in the world.

"The United States has been carrying out continuous research into electromagnetic propulsion (EMP for short) at Pine Gap since it was established in 1966. Nixon (former U.S. President) last year announced 1975 as a target date for the completion of the project. At that time it was to relieve the petrol crisis.

"I understand that last minute flaws in the design and operation of the EMP vehicles have probably put the completion date back by four years". Security aspects of the EMP project have included hypnotic and posthypnotic keys implanted in personnel prior to their acceptance into the project. It is likely, however, that this technique has been replaced now that it is known that a side effect of LSD and other hallucinogenics is to remove partial hypnosis effects."

I wrote to The Nation Review seeking additional information from the author of the article, William H. Martin. A reply was sent by his secretary which sought more information than it gave. Apparently, 'William H. Martin' was a nom de plume. No further dialogue was attempted.

However, years later I stumbled across the reason that reporter chose the name of William H. Martin. This in itself tells an interesting story about the article "William H. Martin" wrote here.

There was a real man by the name of William H. Martin who lived in the United States many years ago. Recently his family has put up a tribute web site to his aviation research which predated the Wright Brothers flight. The following is from that site.

"The real William H. Martin's experimenting reached the stage of a patent on a toy flying machine January 3, 1908. But he could not find a manufacturer; so the toy airplane never went into production.

"Later that year, Mr. Martin built his full-sized monoplane. He struck out boldly from the biplane designs in use by other inventors and adopted the monoplane form, with balancing wings forming a "V" below the main wing to give stability and safety. The materials used were light wood and English broadcloth.

"After his first wife died, William married Almina Pontius Martin, who was an enthusiastic supporter of her husband's flying projects. The plane was completed just at the turn of the year. It had sled runners in place of wheels, and the builder had to wait for a fall of snow before testing it.

"On January 12, 1909, snow covered the fields back of the Martin farm, and the device was hauled out and taken to the top of a hill. Old Billy, the farm horse, was hitched to the front of the plane by a long rope. Mr. Martin took his seat in the plane, son George whistled to Billy. The horse started down the hill pulling the plane behind him. It rose from the ground, reached a height of 25 feet and traveled 200 feet before the horse slackened its pace and the plane settled gently back to earth.

Now what does this have to do with Pine Gap? Well, as you can see from the preceding paragraph, Glenn L. Martin of the well-known Glenn L. Martin Aircraft Corporation was William H. Martin's cousin. They were both pioneers in aviation.

What you may not remember is that in The Cosmic Conspiracy the Glenn L. Martin Company was named in a series of articles I reprinted from the New York Herald Tribune in 1955. In these articles the Martin Company was one of those listed as researching electrogravitic propulsion (manmade flying saucers).

Since William H. Martin's early research was held very secret and since his cousin eventually worked on "flying saucer" technology it would seem that the reporter chose his nom d'plume for its cryptic value on the Pine Gap Article. The reporter has never written under that name again as far as I can determine. His real name is still a mystery today.

This does not prove that Flying saucer research and development ever transpired at the Pine Gap Facility; however, it does raise questions when one considers the following points.

The security at the Pine Gap Facility has been strictly enforced for its entire existence. No Australian politician has ever been shown the true nature of all the functions of the Pine Gap Facility (see the 1998 Treaty.)

The largest primary contractor for the Facility was and is the huge TRW Aerospace Corporation. You must see the huge amount of aerospace projects in which this corporation is involved! This corporation has been linked by senior executives such as John S. Foster (1961-1965) [pictured below left] to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory who work in nuclear physics and for whom Dr. Edward Teller (father of the hydrogen Bomb) [pictured below right] was a director and founder.

It was Dr. Edward Teller and his associate Dr. James R. Maxfield (see The Cosmic Conspiracy) in Dallas, Texas who recruited me into their Australian black ops project which was developing manmade flying saucers in 1971!

Did they use the Pine Gap Facility for such R&D? Were the tales of flying saucer landings with men in them which were told to me by some tribal aborigines in the Alice area true? I know the black ops project had an Antarctic base for their saucer development but it is possible that saucers did land at Pine Gap from time to time. Who knows....

Pine Gap's true location and all it functions are still secret and secure. The nature and power of its continental defense system is still a secret. It does not change the fact that the Facility is a great monument to the defensive "umbrella" of technology given to the world by Dr. Nikola Tesla.

SUNSPOT COUNT

Sunspot count hit an ALL TIME RECORD of 401 today beating the next highest record by nearly 60 points! This should affect ocean temperatures and Earth weather throwing us into a possible new El Nino by the end of the year. However there does not appear to be any coronal holes or CMEs on the way though there are flares in progress.

NEW SHAKER MAP

For those of you new to Building Community and Noah's Ark website, here is a quick rundown on Stan's earthquake prediction maps which we refer to as his "shaker" maps. In the Summer of '95, the U.S. Navy began releasing to the public - as a courtesy - the OTIS (Optimum Thermal Interpolation System) thermal anomaly maps which show the heating and cooling patterns in the ocean.

Stan noticed that where a rapidly cooling and a rapidly heating pattern butt together AND overlap faultlines, there is a high probability of earthquake activity. To date, Stan has the largest collection in the world (even more than the Navy) of these OTIS raw data maps as he has kept nearly every day's satellite image since 1995. Some days he was unable to obtain a map as the Navy's site would be "down" with no explanation.

By using this process, Stan is able to achieve ~70% accuracy predicting earthquakes. In 1996, we met with the U.S. Navy's FNMOC (Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center) in Monterey, CA and showed them Stan's technique. FNMOC the world's foremost oceanographic and atmospheric analysis and forecasting centers, but the Navy didn't realize the significance of these maps in terms of earthquake prediction. Instead, they use these maps for defense purposes. They were mildly impressed, but said they would be checking our site every day! That's quite a compliment!

Using this method, three things can interfere with earthquake prediction, hence the 70% accuracy - which is still quite high:

Even with these restrictions, Stan has a remarkable track record. Unfortunately due to time restraints, we don't put up new shakers even weekly any more, but we will let you know when new ones are available. For the current shaker, see our Geophysics Section. There are four different shaker maps for you to see.

DROUGHT MAP

In this same Geophysics Section, you will also see an updated Drought Map. Stan has highlighted in red areas of the continental U.S. that are in moderate to extreme drought. Drought, in some degree, now affects 49.3% of the U.S. With August on the way, there is little relief in sight.

With affection,
Stan and Holly, packing for a visit to Temple Bar Station in "Pine Gap Valley"
Seismo and Taco, dreaming of a "Roo" chase in "the Alice"

Seismo: Whaddaya think they do over there at that Space Base?

Taco: They make more of the "Never never".... you know, "Space, the last great frontier..."

Seismo: Taco, I love it when you talk trekkie to me.... <sigh>....