Telstar 1 - July 10th, 1962

Today on Discovery Enterprise we mark the fiftieth anniversary of a
new era of the telecommunications revolution. A half century ago on July 10th,
1962, Telstar 1, the world’s first telecommunications satellite was
launched. It became the first communication
satellite to relay a television signals across the Atlantic Ocean. Transmissions were limited to
only twenty minutes every two and a half hours due to its orbit.

To mark this occasion
we present two video features. A short documentary produced in 1962 from the
AT&T achieves which presents the story of how the Bell System, in
cooperation with NASA, developed the Telstar satellite, and participated in the
launch and the subsequent successful transmission of signals to and from the
earth and space. We also present a short video segment of President
John F. Kennedy inaugurating the occasion of the first transatlantic telecast
during a press conference on July 23rd, 1962.

Telstar
1, was actually quite tiny. It was only 34 inches across, and weighed
171 pounds. Its solar panels produced fewer than 15 watts. Conversely, modern
satellites average around 47 ft. wide and produce 1.5 kilowatts with their
solar panels.

Telstar 1 had some
problems one year following its launch.

The ...