The Kettering Group traces its origins to 1960, when school teachers Geoffrey Perry and Derek Slater incorporated practical satellite tracking exercises that focused on Soviet satellites into their science lessons at Kettering Grammar School. The operation was conducted with ordinary shortwave radio equipment, and used the Doppler effect to successfully analyse the satellites’ orbits, leading to a number of ground-breaking discoveries. Such was the effectiveness of their operation that they broke many Soviet mission news stories to the West, and, owing to this publicity, were cited in evidence in the US Senate – which was unable to draw on classified information accessible to the US security services.

The collection is a comprehensive portrayal of the work of the Group, and contains observation log books, Perry’s diaries, papers relating to satellite launches, satellite signals on paper tape, audio-visual recordings and their transcripts (some containing the conversations of Soviet astronauts, including Valentina Tereshkova), photographs, transparencies, Perry’s speaking engagements including illustration graphics, and original cartoons as they appeared in national newspapers.