Ascension Island: history of discovery, location and territorial affiliation. ZD8W Ascension Island A story that began with the discovery
Oliver, W6NV will be active again from Ascension Island in October - November 2016 as ZD8W.
He will compete in CQ WW DX SSB Contest 29 - 30 October 2016 and CQ WW DX CW Contest 26 - 27 November 2016.
Before and after the competition he will operate on 160 - 6m.
QSL via home call.
Address for QSL direct:
Oliver Sweningsen, III, PO BOX 90, Orinda, CA 94563, USA.
Ascension Island. ZD8W QSL.
ascension island
Island-ship, open twice
There are many islands in the Atlantic Ocean that invariably attract the attention of tourists, but Ascension Island is by no means one of them. Even the most inveterate travelers who, traveling around the world, love to visit the most distant and exotic corners of our planet, appear on it quite infrequently. In principle, this is not at all surprising, since, despite the seemingly very advantageous geographical position in terms of tourism, it is not very attractive due to its nature, and therefore the tourism industry is not developed there at all.
Ascension Island is located just south of the equator, about halfway between Africa and South America. Its total area is 91 square kilometers, about 900 people live on it, and the administrative center, the largest locality and the port at the same time is the town of Georgetown. In terms of nationality, it is part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Interestingly, this small and sparsely populated piece of land on the Internet has its own domain.
Discovery and settlement of Ascension Island
Historians with knowledge of the case claim that Ascension Island was, in fact, discovered twice. In 1501, during his voyage to India, the Portuguese traveler Juan da Nova stumbled upon him, and he simply reflected this fact in the ship's log, but did not examine it. Two years later, just on the eve of the Christian church holiday of the Ascension of the Lord, another famous Portuguese, Alphonse d'Albuquerque, visited this island, who gave it its current name.
Another famous historical character who happened to visit Ascension Island was William Dampier, a British pirate and traveler who was shipwrecked nearby. It was he who found the source on the island fresh water, which was used until the early sixties of the last century.
The first inhabitants on Ascension Island appeared only in 1815, when the British authorities decided to place a small garrison on it. However, one serious obstacle arose in the way of implementing this measure: there was simply no money in the treasury for this. Then the witty and resourceful British simply renamed the island "Her Majesty's Ship Ascension", which is constantly in the raid, and funding followed from the "naval" budget item.
In the 1920s, a base was established on Ascension Island to supply warships that prevented the transport of slaves from Africa to South America, and at the end of the 19th century, a telephone cable was laid through it, which connected Great Britain and South Africa. At the end of the last century, a spacecraft tracking base was located on Ascension Island, and it is the service personnel of this facility that now makes up the entire local population.
Nature and climate of Ascension Island
This island is located in the tropical climate zone, and throughout the year the air temperature there fluctuates within +25 °C. As such, there is no rainy season on it, and tropical hurricanes bypass it.
Ascension Island is of volcanic origin, and the last powerful eruption took place there about 500 years ago. The most high point– Green Mountain (about 800 meters above sea level). As for the flora and fauna, they are extremely poor on this island: rather lush tropical vegetation is found only on the slopes of Zelenaya Gora, and from animals there are only a few species of small turtles, earth crabs and several species of insects (practically all of them are, by the way, , endemic, that is, they are not found anywhere else on the planet.
What to do on Ascension Island?
Due to the fact that several military installations and a space tracking station are located on Ascension Island, the access of tourists to it is limited and is possible only in small groups with special permission from the authorities. Most travelers come to it from the United States, and they are attracted by nature, although very ascetic, but practically untouched by any human activities, as well as magnificent "wild" beaches, located mainly on south coast. Fans and connoisseurs of technology are of considerable interest in unique in their design and very beautiful in design. appearance space antennas, as well as a British Covenanter cruiser tank mounted on a small plinth next to the local military museum. By the way, how exactly he got to this island is still not known for certain even to specialist historians.
Video of Ascension Island
Ascension Island - volcanic island located in the Atlantic Ocean 1600 km west of the African coast. It is part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, from which it is located 1287 kilometers to the north-west. Main city and the port is Georgetown.
The island was discovered by the Portuguese Juan de Nova in 1501, but he did not make any descriptions of the island. In 1503, on Ascension Day, the island was rediscovered by the navigator Alfonso d "Albuquerque, who gave the island the name in honor of the Ascension of the Lord, which he still bears. Being dry and barren, he was of little interest to the sailors of the East India Fleet. The island remained uninhabited until 1815, when a small British garrison was stationed there.After the death of Napoleon in 1821, the island became a base for supplying ships that prevented the slave trade on the West African coast.From 1922 to 1964, the Eastern Telegraph company managed the island, and from 1964 in connection with the deployment The BBC station decided to appoint an administrator.
During World War II, the United States Government, in accordance with an agreement with His Majesty's Government, built the Widewake airstrip. From 1943-45, more than 25,000 American aircraft were transiting cargo destined for the North African, Middle Eastern, and European theaters of war. In 1957 the US presence was re-established and the airborne landing site was enlarged and is now also the USAF Southeast Tracking Station. A NASA tracking station was built in 1967 but has since been closed. There is a weekly USAF air service between Ascension Island, Antigua and Air Force Base Florida. Ascension Island is still a stopover for British flights between the UK and the Falkland Islands. So in 1982, during the Falklands conflict with refueling on Ascension Island, British Nimrod patrol aircraft made several flights into the conflict zone, which became a new record for long-range reconnaissance operations by the British Air Force.
The island has one of the five antennas used in the operation of the GPS satellite navigation system. The other four are located in Kwajalein Atoll, Diego Garcia, Colorado Springs and Hawaii. There is no local population as such on the island. The inhabitants of the island are mainly employees and the military with their families. The population in 2005 was 1,100, mostly residents of Saint Helena, as well as 150 residents of the United States and 200 people from the United Kingdom.
» ascension island
Ascension Island is a lone island in the Atlantic just south of the equator, about halfway between Africa and South America. Most of it is black and red volcanic deserts, very similar to, which, together with almost year-round 25 ° -35 ° C and white sandy beaches, breaks all possible patterns.
This island is an unsinkable aircraft carrier of the Anglo-Saxon military, there are military bases of the British and Americans, from here the BBC slanders on long waves, Cable & Wireless transmits secret signals, the Apollo mission was monitored here and the French Ariane is being monitored. Getting here is not a trivial matter, but this is the most beautiful and interesting tropical island I have ever seen.
The entire population of the island consists of 900 British and American military and signalmen, their families and service personnel from among the inhabitants, who are here 2 days by sea 
This image is in the public domain because it contains materials that originally came from the United States Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook
The last eruption here was about 500 years ago, and a noticeable part of the small territory of the island is still quite fresh. 
Comfortless Bay
On Ascension, everything, including idyllic tropical bathing, takes place against the backdrop of beautiful antennas. Do not like antennas, but love palm trees and coconuts? You are a miserable citizen! 
Antennas of the BBC Atlantlic Relay Station at English Bay
Since the discovery by the Portuguese in 1503, this deserted island was hardly used until the British established a military base here in 1815 for protection;
in 1898, British signalmen first appeared on the island: the Eastern Telegraph Company (now Cable and Wireless) runs a telegraph cable from the United Kingdom to South Africa through the island;
during the Second World War, the Americans build an air base here;
in the 1960s, the BBC and NASA settled here;
in 1982 they fought with Argentina for the Falklands from here;
in the 1990s, the European Space Agency, in connection with the Ariane 5 rocket program, builds a ground station here
tourism is allowed in 2002!!!11 
The moon looks almost down, and not sideways, because it is almost the equator
With such a history, it's no surprise that the main eye candy on this island is the beautiful antennas. 
Communications Day! 
This, as they say here, "Mexican thorn" Prosopis juliflora(mesquite tree, a type of mimosa), is a dangerous alien from the seventies: it reproduces with terrible force through donkey shit. What is its danger for the volcanic desert, I did not understand: before the appearance of this mimosa, nothing grew here 
On Ascension Island, everything around contains a horse dose of romance 
In addition to antennas, the island is full of mysterious signs. 
½
The cloud in the background covers the top of the mountain for a reason: unlike the “lunar” surface at sea level, a real rainforest is hiding in the cloud, as in Southeast Asia or on 
Danger, Men Aloft
There are no fences around the antenna fields; the feeders overhead can be reached by hand. You climb for half an hour and inspire yourself that the head hurts from the "strength of the electromagnetic field" 
Radiation Hazard Keep Clear
While sitting in the air-conditioned interior of the car, you have to pinch your side all the time: THIS IS NOT! 
Comfortless Bay
But there are also palm trees in this tropical hell, which looks like a hot pan without oil. Satellite dishes look almost up, not sideways, because it's almost the equator 
BBC Atlantic Relay Station
The cars are numbered in order, starting from 1. To distinguish the numbers from the numbers (hell, why?), a Latin letter is added to the beginning A. Offroad is allowed on the island, and 4x4 has a deep meaning: as soon as you move off the asphalt, you can easily dig over the bridges in this layer of pumice crumble 
The sea temperature varies between 24° and 27°C, depending on the season. There are enough whites on the island sandy beaches, but you can swim only in English Bay or Comfortless Bay: in other places, a risky swimmer is immediately carried away into the open Atlantic Ocean. This is how he screams:
— AAAA-AAAA- AAA-AAA- AAAAAA- AAAA- AAAAAA !
In season, all the idyllic beaches are pitted with large holes and trampled by small feet: at night, maturing clutches of the green sea turtle chelonia mydas torn apart and march into the ocean, where they will have a journey full of adventure and danger to Brazil. Seeing a young turtle during the day is a rarity and good luck, but we were lucky! I named this turtle Nikolay) 
By the way, in English language two non-interchangeable words for turtles: turtle - "aquatic turtle" and tortoise - "land turtle". If you call Nicholas tortoise you just won't understand 
Nikolai is photogenic and loves to be photographed) 
But shooting is the tenth thing: the first 20 meters can hardly be called the most difficult, because all the remaining 2300 kilometers to Brazil, the enemies will encroach on Nikolai with approximately the same frequency 
In the photo: Nikolai climbs up the slope against the backdrop of a cigarette butt and dead withered Pavel and Vladimir
Exploding during the day was a bad idea for Nikolai: while we are filming his first 20 meters on the way to the ocean, a local endemic frigate is circling above us fregata aquila rushing straight at us humans. How can we try to brush it off and help Nikolai on his way to the ocean 
Fregata aquila
Nikolai jumps into the sea and plunges briskly, quickly moving away from the shore 
But the frigate turns out to be more skillful, meaner: at the end of the photo shoot, the hero is devoured 
Fregata aquila with Chelonia myda in the mouth
Plan
Introduction
1. History
2 Armed forces
3 Population
3.1 Settlements
3.2 Religion
4 Climate
5 Tourism
5.1 Message
Introduction
Ascension Island Ascension Island) is a volcanic island located in the Atlantic Ocean, 1600 km west of the African coast.
It is part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, from which it is located 1287 kilometers to the north-west. The main city and port is Georgetown. Georgetown).
1. History
The island was discovered by the Portuguese Juan da Nova in 1501, but he did not make any descriptions of the island. In 1503, on Ascension Day, the island was rediscovered by the navigator Alfonso d "Albuquerque, who gave the island the name in honor of the Ascension of the Lord, which he still bears. Being dry and barren, he was of little interest to the sailors of the East India Fleet. The island remained uninhabited until 1815, when a small British garrison was stationed there.After the death of Napoleon in 1821, the island became a base for supplying ships that prevented the slave trade on the West African coast.From 1922 to 1964, the Eastern Telegraph company managed the island, and from 1964 in connection with the deployment The BBC station decided to appoint an administrator.
2. Armed Forces
During World War II, the United States Government, in accordance with an agreement with His Majesty's Government, built the Widewake airstrip. In 1943-45. more than 25,000 American aircraft were transiting cargo destined for the North African, Middle Eastern and European theaters of war. In 1957 the US presence was re-established and the airborne landing site was enlarged and is now also the USAF Southeast Tracking Station. A NASA tracking station was built in 1967 but has since been closed. There is a weekly USAF air service between Ascension Island, Antigua and Air Force Base Florida. Ascension Island is still a stopover for British flights between the UK and the Falkland Islands. So in 1982, during the Falklands conflict with refueling on Ascension Island, British Nimrod patrol aircraft made several flights into the conflict zone, which became a new record for long-range reconnaissance operations by the British Air Force.
The island has one of the five antennas used in the operation of the GPS satellite navigation system. The other four are located in Kwajalein Atoll, Diego Garcia, Colorado Springs and Hawaii.
3. Population
There is no local population as such on the island. The inhabitants of the island are mainly employees and the military with their families. The population in 2005 was 1,100, mostly residents of Saint Helena, as well as 150 residents of the United States and 200 people from the United Kingdom.
Settlements There are five settlements on the island: And also several cottages in the Green Mountains. Religion
The main religion is Protestantism. Georgetown is home to St. Mary's Anglican Church, and there is also a small Roman Catholic church on the island.
The climate of the island is subtropical, the temperature ranges from 25 to 27°C, the coldest month is September, the warmest month is March. There is no rainy season as such on the island. The average annual rainfall is 130-150 mm in the main part of the island, 750-800 mm in the Zelenaya Gora area (600-800 m above sea level).
5.1. Message
There are two ways to get to Ascension Island:
1. RAF aircraft to the RAF military airfield Brize Norton near Oxford, UK. To travel to Ascension Island, in addition to a British visa, a special entry permit from the UK Department of Defense is also required. You also need to have full medical insurance. Only 26 seats are reserved for civilians on the weekly flight.
2. On the Royal Mail Ship "Saint Helena", which sails between Cape Town (South Africa) and Saint Helena, calling at the bays of Ascension Island and sometimes the Tristan da Cunha Islands. The ship departs once a month and takes on board 130 passengers.
View in Google Maps
Weather on Ascension Island
· Basic information. Traveler's diary
Flora of Ascension Island
NASA Station on the Island
· Site of a local resident. Photo galleries
Impressions of tourists who visited the island with photos (English)
Modern territory Former territories Former territories within the Commonwealth Realms
