Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer

“Klystron” is the generic name for the power amplifiers developed for use in radar and microwave devices. This 10 kW Klystron Tube was initially used in Project Echo, NASA’s first major experiment in satellite communications. Project Echo was intended to provide a demonstration of the feasibility of long-range communications using a passive satellite reflecting sphere. It was a part of the receiver on Earth that bounced signals off of Echo. Thereafter, this 10 kW Klystron Tube was used for two successive years to obtain at a ground radar astronomy station to obtain signals from the planet Venus. The first successful detection of a return echo from this planet came on March 10, 1961. This Klystron Tube was also used on a ground receiver to help develop the ranging system used during the Lunar Orbiter and Apollo programs.

The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory transferred this object to the Museum in 1984.

 Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type EQUIPMENT-Electronics Manufacturer Varian Associates
 Dimensions Storage (Rehoused on an aluminum pallet with two other objects): 123.2 × 123.2 × 133.7cm, 154.2kg (48 1/2 × 48 1/2 × 52 5/8 in., 340lb.)
 Materials Aluminum, Cadmium Plating, Teflon, Steel, Brass, Plastic, Paint
Rubber (Silicone)
 Inventory Number A19840657000 Credit Line Transferred from Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.