Charlie, The Rubidium Clock

Charlie, the rubidium clock, carried by Barry Clark from the US to Crimea (via New York, Amsterdam, Bonn, Copenhagen, and Moscow) for use in the May 1971 US-USSR VLBI experiment. Prepared for travel in his special case, Charlie weighed 70 kilograms. His trip included air freight (and brief but worrisome disappearances from its system), suspicious customs agents, bonding agents, reams of paperwork, calls to embassies, automobile trunks too small to carry him, breaker-tripping encounters with 220 volt lines, and several near death experiences as his charge almost ran out.

Records of the NRAO

NRAO/AUI/NSF

Still Image

B&W negative

1969-10

NRAO/AUI/NSF

GB71-08290

1971-10-08

The full story of Charlie's trip (and Barry Clark's as well) may be found in Barry's two "Travels with Charlie" articles in The Observer, the first in vol. 13 #1, January 1972, page 13, and the second in vol. 13 #2, April 1972, also page 13.

VLBI Series

VLBI Photographs Unit

2A