Needles in the Void: Project West Ford’s Orbital Radiofield

In 1963, the U.S. launched 480 million copper needles into Earth’s orbit — without international consent and without telling most of the scientific community.

This episode of Unsettled: The Hidden Record uncovers Project West Ford, a Cold War-era military communications experiment designed to create an artificial radio reflector belt around Earth. The goal was to ensure uninterrupted signal transmission in the event of Soviet satellite sabotage.

It worked… briefly. But the launch triggered global outrage from astronomers, physicists, and foreign governments. Critics warned it could permanently damage Earth’s orbit and block future scientific discovery.

So why did it happen? What were they afraid of? And how many of those copper needles are still up there today?

This was not science fiction. This was a sanctioned, launched, and nearly forgotten act of orbital interference.