MAKE: Blog: 46 years of Satellite TV

46 years of Satellite TV

Photos Uncategorized 2008 07 09 Telstar
46 years of Satellite TV @ Retrothing -

The Telstar 1 communication satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on July 10, 1962, ushering in the modern age of intercontinental broadcasting and telecommunication. It was owned by AT&T and developed at Bell Telephone Labs as part of an international project sponsored by the USA, UK and France. Its $3 million trip atop one of NASA's Thor-Delta rockets was the first commercially sponsored launch.
Telstar was placed in a medium altitude elliptical orbit that circled the earth approximately once every 2 3/4 hours. This resulted in a short 20 minute window during which intercontinental communication could be established between Andover Earth Station in the United States and Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station in Cornwall, England or Pleumeur-Bodou in France.

Goonhilly became the first ground station to receive a live intercontinental TV feed on July 23, 1962, although the French were the first to receive a patriotic American test image from Andover, Maine.

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Comments

Oldest comments listed first.

Posted by: Noadi on July 10, 2008 at 5:37 PM

Not much else has ever happened in Andover.

Seriously, I live not far from Andover, Maine, and I attended Telstar High School. That's just about the biggest things to ever happen in Andover. Not that my town is much better, Bethel is known for a ski resort and giant snow people.

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