# Needles in space

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needles-in-space/210602>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 31, 2003, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needles-in-space/210602 "2003-10-31T04:35:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Kriss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kriss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kriss)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needles-in-space/210602/1 "2003-10-31T04:35:48Z")

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Were there any needles launched into space as an experiment? The experiment would be to launch 40 tons worth of needles into space and see if the pressure of the sunlight can push it away.  
Scientific American, August 1998 (Vol 279, Number 2, article by N.L.Johnson, Page 43, (63 in US edition?!)) explains :

“80 clumps of needles (were) released in May 1963 as part of a US Department of Defense telecommunication experiment. The radiation pressure exerted by sunlight (???) was to have pushed the tiny needles - all 400 million of them - out of orbit …”

It says it on this website here: [http://thiaoouba.com/faq.htm](http://thiaoouba.com/faq.htm)  
Its under the question: What do you know about the needles, which the people from Thiaoouba have removed twice from their orbit around Earth ?

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**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needles-in-space/210602/2 "2003-10-31T04:51:41Z")

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May 10, 1963 - Project West Ford (also known as “Project Needles”) launches millions of hair-like copper wire dipole antennas into orbit, creating an artificial ionospheric communications relay.

Source: [http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4217/app-b.htm](http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4217/app-b.htm)

[Project West Ford](http://www.aero.org/publications/aeropress/Martin/martin_4.html)

[Project West Ford](http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=1963-014A)

[Project West Ford](http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4209/ch2-3.htm) (See appendix at bottom of page.)

Shall we say we’ve now passed through the _eye of the needle_ and this _thread_ may be closed? 😃

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kriss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kriss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kriss)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needles-in-space/210602/3 "2003-10-31T04:55:00Z")

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Then what acutally happened to those needles? DId they get pushed or something?