TheSignals Research and Development Establishment (SRDE) was a British governmentmilitary research establishment, based inChristchurch, Dorset from 1943 until it merged with theRoyal Radar Establishment (RRE) inMalvern, Worcestershire to form theRoyal Signals and Radar Establishment (RSRE) in 1976. Its focus wasmilitary communications (signals).
The establishment had its origins in the Royal Engineers Wireless Telegraphy Experimental Section founded atAldershot in the very early part of the twentieth century. It moved toWoolwich, initially into the formerRoyal Dockyard (at that time a military stores depot) where it formed part of the Inspectorate of Royal Engineers Stores, before moving on toWoolwich Common.[1][2]
In 1914 it was operating out of a van at Woolwich, but in 1916 it settled into its own premises, becoming theSignals Experimental Establishment.[3] The establishment was renamed SRDE at the start of theSecond World War; it moved briefly toHorsham before settling in Christchurch in 1943 after the radar teams left to Malvern. The Woolwich buildings then became part of theAtomic Weapons Research Establishment.[3][2]
Following World War II, the Signals Research and Development Establishment (SRDE) expanded its mission to include digital communication, transistors and computing. During the late 1940s and 1950s, SRDE became involved in the application ofpulse-code modulation in British military systems, particularly for guided missile telemetry[4] and radar data transmission. A major innovation in the 1950’s was the development of theBarker code, a binary sequence designed by SRDE engineerRonald Hugh Barker in 1953 to improve synchronisation in PCM signal decoding.[5][6][7]
In the 1960s and 1970s SRDE was involved in the development of militarycommunications satellites. It participated in the U.S.Interim Defense Communication Satellite Program (IDCSP), and a trans-Atlantic link to a U.S. station was first established on 18 June 1966.[8] It also led the development of the BritishSkynet 1 and 2 military communications satellites, the first of which launched 22 November 1969, and performed their initial in-orbit testing.[9][10] Skynet 1A was the first military satellite ingeostationary orbit.[8]
In 1976, under the Director ofJohn Mills, SRDE merged with theRoyal Radar Establishment (RRE) and theServices Electronic Research Laboratory (SERL) to form theRoyal Signals and Radar Establishment (RSRE), headquartered in Malvern, Worcestershire. SRDE remained in Christchurch until 1980, when it moved to a RSRE facility atRAF Defford near Malvern.[9]
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