Orbiter X: An adventure in the conquest of space is a BBC Radio science fiction programme written by B. D. Chapman. Only a single series was produced which was broadcast on the BBC Light Programme on Monday evenings in late 1959. Presumed to have been wiped and lost, a set of discs of the entire series, recorded for the BBC Transcription Service, was discovered and restored. Since 2016, Orbiter X has occasionally been repeated on the BBC's archive station, BBC Radio 4 Extra.
Plot The fictional Commonwealth Space Project (CSP), based in Woomera, South Australia, is working to build a space station orbiting a thousand miles above the Earth's surface: Orbiter X. Planned to be a refuelling station for further space exploration, along with laboratories and other services, the CSP has launched the various components for the space station into orbit. But before construction can begin, the first assembly ship, Orbiter 1, is seemingly attacked and loses contact with CSP Control. A second ship, Orbiter 2, piloted by Captain Bob Britton (John Carson), sent to rescue the first crew finds Orbiter 1 deserted and the spacecraft's log missing. Orbiter 2 is also attacked by a UFO and Flight Engineer 'Hicky' (Barrie Gosney) seriously injured. With their spacecraft crippled, the crew have no alternative but to abandon ship and place themselves at the mercy of their attackers. Once aboard the UFO, they meet Commander Gelbin (Arthur Lawrence), the deputy leader of the Unity organisation: a group of technocrats who plan to use Orbiter X themselves and create a New World Order.
Background Writing in the Radio Times, the programme's creator said:
Production details The producer of Orbiter X, Charles Maxwell, aimed to make the series authentic as possible. During the studio recordings, the cast wore 'space helmets' to help them to achieve a sense of realism. Harry Morriss and Ian Cook created around 40 different sound effects for the series, with "as many as four or five effects sometimes being blended together to produce one particular sound".
Cast The complete cast, as listed in the Radio Times, was: PartPlayed byCaptain Bob BrittonJohn CarsonCaptain Douglas McClellandAndrew CrawfordFlight Engineer HicksBarrie GosneyColonel KentDonald BissetCaptain Jack BradleyJohn WittyControl Officer BrownPeter Noel CookControl Officer CammFrancis HallU F O Commander GelbinArthur LawrenceRadio OperatorJohn MatthewsMax KramerGerik SchjelderupGreta RavelIrene PradorSir Charles DayLeslie PerrinsNeasenIan SadlerLetmannJohn CazabonCaptain KnightJohn Graham
Episode list No.First broadcastTitle128 Sep 1959The First Step to the Stars25 Oct 1959Conflict in Space312 Oct 1959The Master Plan419 Oct 1959Flight to the Moon526 Oct 1959Inside the Moon Station62 Nov 1959Breakaway79 Nov 1959Price of Survival8 16 Nov 1959Marooned in Space923 Nov 1959Operation Salvage1030 Nov 1959Return to Woomera117 Dec 1959A Flight Against Time1214 Dec 1959Building the Space Station1321 Dec 1959The Net Closes1428 Dec 1959The Final Round
References
External links
Tim Worthington's Newsround blog on Orbiter X