This Day in Science Fiction History: 10 July

Historical Entry—Tuesday, July 10, 1962

Telstar backup satellite at the National Air and Space Museum (©2006 Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum)

NASA has long been the face of the American space program. But private industry has been part of the process since the early 1960s. In late 1961, AT&T partnered with NASA to develop a satellite capable of transmitting both audio and video signals. The purpose was to “demonstrate the United States’ willingness to share its civilian space efforts with the public.”

The concept of the telecommunications satellite started nearly sixteen years earlier when Arthur C. Clarke published “Extra Terrestrial Relays” in the October 1945 issue of Wireless World. He proposed a three satellite system, each spaced 180° apart and in a high enough orbit they would seem to remain stationary to the ground. This is why geosynchronous orbits are also referred to as Clark orbits. However, the needed technology was still several years away.

In 1958,SCORE (Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay), was launched. It was the first communications satellite. SCORE was only capable of audio and teletype transmissions and used a passive reflector. This limited return signal strength because there was no amplifier on board to restore the original signal.

Bell Telephone Laboratories developed the Telstar series. The spherical satellites were about the twice the size of a beach ball and weighed 170 pounds. They were powered by 3,600 sapphire coated solar cells around the body of the satellite. The total cost of each satellite, with launch, was 50 million dollars (about 520 million in today’s dollars).

Telstar 1’s launch was aboard Thor-Delta 11. The satellite achieved orbit and relayed the first video pictures from Andover, Maine to Pleumeur-Bodou, France on July 11. On July 12, Pleumeur-Bodou sent a new transmission. Britian would later send signals as well.

Unfortunately, Telstar 1 launched less than a day after the Starfish Prime test. Its orbit traced through the highly-charged Van Alan Belt and by November 1962, the command channel began to fail. NASA and AT&T worked out a channel switching system which mitigated the problem. On November 23, the channel failed completely. Work continued to restore the system, and on December 20, Telstar 1 was reactivated. It remained operational until February 21, 1963, when the transmitter failed completely.

During its lifespan, Telstar 1 transmitted over 400 video, audio, telegraph, and computer messages. It paved the way for modern worldwide telecommunications.

Telstar 1 is launched

Historical Event

2015

This Day in Science Fiction History examines notable events, real and fictional, concerning fantasy and science fiction in various media.