Missile Test Project  The Missile Test Project (MTP) was a U.S. Air Force program operated by RCA Service Company (RCAS) from Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, under the direction of prime contractor Pan American Guided Missiles Research Division (PAA GMRD) during the 1950s and continuing on for several more decades. Under this program, RCAS instrumented and operated various ships and stations on the Air Force Eastern Test Range with electronic tracking and telemetry equipment. The instrumented ships and stations tracked incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) and, using radar or telemetry, also tracked manned or unmanned space vehicles orbiting the earth. MTP instrumented and operated the following tracking stations: CCAFS (designated AFE71), Grand Bahama Island (AFE73), Eleuthera Island (AFE74), San Salvador Island (AFE75), Mayaguana Island (AFE76), Grand Turk Island (AFE77), Antigua Island (AFE86), Chaguaramus, Trinidad (AFE87), Ascension Island (AFE83) and Mahé in the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean (AFE89). The tracking station planned for South Africa was never fully instrumented and eventually found to be redundant.??? The tracking station, Station 13, in South Africa (at Bapsfontein near Pretoria) operated from about 1960 until 1969 and had a tracking radar, telemetry site and GLOTRAC  The following small diesel-powered ships were instrumented with tracking equipment: "Sword Knot", "Rose Knot", "Timber Hitch", "Coastal Crusader", "Coastal Sentry", and "Sampam Hitch". In 1964 three very highly advanced instrumented ships were added to the MTP inventory: the USAFS "General H. H. Arnold" and USAFS "General Hoyt S. Vandenberg" (both Type C4 ships), as well as the USAS "American Mariner" (a converted Liberty ship). These tracking ships, when operated under the direct supervision and operational control of PAA GMRD, were termed "Ocean Range Vessel" (ORV). The management, logistics and infrastructure of the tracking stations were under the control of PAA GMRD while electronic equipment, such as the tracking radars, was under the control of RCAS personnel. Some bases, such as those at Antigua and at Chagaramus, Trinidad, were located in populated areas and, in some cases, technical personnel were permitted to bring their families with them.