History of Satellite Communications
The first idea of satellite communication came from an article in 1945 named Wireless World, where Author C. Clarke described the use of manned satellites in 24 hour orbits to distribute television programs. However, the first person to carefully evaluate the technical and financial aspects of such a venture was John R. Pierce of Bell Telephone Laboratories (Whalen, n.d.).
In a 1954 speech and 1955 article, Pierce described the usefulness of a communications "mirror" in space, a medium-orbit "repeater" and a 24-hour-orbit "repeater." In comparing the communications capacity of a satellite, which he estimated the capacity at 1,000 simultaneous telephone calls, and the capacity of the first trans-atlantic telephone cable, which could carry 36 simultaneous telephone calls at a cost of 30-50 million dollars, Pierce wondered if a satellite would be worth a billion dollars (Whalen, n.d.).
By the middle of 1961, RCA had a contract with NASA to build, a 4000 mile high, medium-orbit, active communications satellite called RELAY, AT&T was working on its own medium-orbit satellite called TELSTAR, and Hughes Aircraft Company had an exclusive contract to build a 24-hour orbit, 20,000 mile high satellite, called SYNCOM. By 1964, two TELSTARs, two RELAYs, and two SYNCOMs had operated successfully in space. The transponder technology used by AT&T in the TELSTAR I satellite is current technology in use today (Whalen, n.d.).
On April 6, 1965, a new company called COMSAT launched its first satellite, EARLY BIRD, from Cape Canaveral beginning Global satellite communications. The EARLY BIRD satellite provided almost 10 times the capacity of submarine telephone cables for almost 1/10th the price. Satellites are still competitive with cable for point-to-point communications, but the future advantage may lie with fiber-optic cable (Whalen, n.d.).
How Satellites Work
Orbit
First, as one would guess, satellites are launched into orbit. There are several types of orbit for satellites to follow but the main three are Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), and Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO). Satellites in a Low Earth Orbit are 100-300 miles above the earth's surface, and it must travel around 17,500 mph, circling the planet in about 10 minutes, to avoid gravity pulling them back to earth. In a Medium Earth Orbit, a satellite is 6,00012,000 miles above the earth and will circle the planet 4 to 6 hours. The Geosynchronous Orbit is a bit more complex, this orbit is 22,282 miles above the earth.
Although many people could say that it would just be a waste of time because of the other military development failures, the national budget is shrinking. In the late 1990s, the U.S. government started work on a new type of spy satellite. The project cost U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars, but none of the satellites were built. The reason for t...
R7 was test launched 5 times before the Soviet scientists got it to reach it target hight. They replaced the heavy satellite they had with Sputnik. It was just over 83 kilograms. With that success they launched another one on October 1,1957 and achieving the record of the first man made satellite in space.This was not just a military advancement, it was a man's dream come true.
The advanced technology that XM Radio uses is a big change from the old fashioned ways that FM and AM radio are broadcasted. XM Radio uses satellites in order to broadcast across the entire country with a clear signal. “XM satellites’ fixed orbits ensure a focused and consistent signal” (“Satellites” 2002). If the satellites need to be moved for any reason, no problems will occur with the broadcasting and ensures that the signals will not be lost (“Satellites” 2002). The ways in which were they were manufactured plays a big role in the quality of the signals that are sent to Earth. “The satellites were built by Boeing Satellite Systems, which is the world’s leading commercial manufacturer of satellites” (“Satellites” 2002). This was a smart decision by the makers of XM Radio because Boeing is such a well-respected company that it will ensure the confidence of needed consumers.
The Soviets took a lead by launching the first successful satellite into space. On October 4, 1957 the Soviets launched the first successful satellite into orbit. It was called Sputnik I and it successfully entered Earth’s orbit. This first success started the Space Age. The Soviets successful launch shocked the whole world, giving the Soviet Union the respect for putting the first man-made object into outer space. The Americans successfully launched their first satellite four months after Sputnik I, called the Explorer I. The US would have had the first satellite in orbit if they were allowed to use military rockets from the beginning. But, Eisenhower was worried he would be called a warmonger if he used military rockets for launching a satellite into orbit. He told the sci...
NSSS states a few current trends in space as being “congested and contested” (NSSS, 8), which is shaping our space strategic environment as well as fueling debates for space weapons. “Congested” trend refers to the current “60 nations and government consortia that own and operate satellites and the expectation to have 9000 satellite communication transponders in orbit by 2015.
Launch of the herms in 1976 was world’s first direct to home experimental telecommunication satellite.
NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was formed in 1958 shortly after the Russia launched of Sputnik and the R-7 ICMB Rocket. The administration was formed to research and progress anything that had to do with space, flight, or other aeronautics. Just over a year after the launch of Sputnik, on October 11, 1958 NASA launched its first rocket: Pioneer I. The primary purpose of this rocket was to measure magnetic fields around the Earth. Although the Sputnik projects had many of the same capabilities, the US having finally launched a rocket meant that they were really in the race.
Curtis Peebles is empowering readers with the newly declassified information on how the first American satellites were set into use for intelligence gathering. Through his book, “The Corona Project: America’s First Spy Satellites”, the author gives detailed information on the birth of the satellite program by watching the Corona project from its beginnings in the late 1940s to the declassification of the project and its exhibitions at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.
In 1958, the United States’ first satellite, Explorer I, was launched. Rocket scientist Wernher von Braun directed the creation of this satellite, which was designed by the U.S. Army. This was also around the time that the president at the time, Dwight Eisenhower, signed a public order to create NASA, or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA is a federal agency that focuses on space exploration. Currently, NASA has quite a few rovers and orbiters out. They are also doing some advanced research.
SIRIUS Satellite Radio was incorporated on May 17, 1990 as Satellite CD Radio Inc. On November 18th 1999 the company changed their name to SIRIUS Satellite Radio Inc, which is the name under which the FCC license to distribute satellite radio was given to. SIRIUS Satellite radio currently offers over 100 of music, news, sports, talk, entertainment, traffic, weather, and children’s programming to subscribers throughout the United States.
It was a difficult moment in the late 1950s in America. The Cold Ward was heating up on a political level. Suddenly, that all ended when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957. This was the world’s first artificial satellite to orbit around Earth (Holland 112). As Todd Gitlin puts it, “When the Russians launched the first intercontinental ballistic missile and Sputnik in 1957, they blasted the national pride and stoked a national panic in America” (112). Politics controlled the race at first, but President Kennedy later shifted it towards a peaceful space exploration (Holland 114).
In 1972, Charles Dolan and Gerald Levin of Sterling Manhattan Cable launched the nation's first pay-TV network, Home Box Office (HBO). This venture led to the creation of a national satellite distribution system that used a newly approved domestic satellite transmission. Satellites changed the business dramatically, paving the way for the explosive growth of program networks.
In 1957 the Soviets used a missile to launch a satellite, Sputnik 1, into orbit around the earth. The arms race then became a space race as the United States rushed to launch its own satellites, some for military purposes.
On October 4th, 1957, history was made when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite. The Sputnik I was only the size of a beach ball, it only weighed 183.9 lbs., and it was the marker for the “space race” between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. It was a huge technological achievement that caught the world’s attention and wound up making Americans disappointed that the U.S. did not send the first satellite into space. U.S. citizens were also concerned that if the Soviet Union could send satellites into space then they could posses the power to send ballistic missiles or nuclear weapons. Then, the Soviets raised the bar by sending Laika, the first living thing in space with a much heavier payload on November 3rd. Laika, meaning “barker” in Russian, was a stray mutt that was only three years old when she went to space. Laika was sent to space in a restrictive spacecraft that only had enough room...
By the time the 20th century arrived, vacuum tubes were invented that could transmit weak electrical signals which led to the formation of electromagnetic waves that led to the invention of the radio broadcast system (750). These vacuum tubes were discovered to be able to transmit currents through solid material, which led to the creation of transistors in the 1960’s (750).