Abstract :
Science-fiction writers and visionaries dreamt of communicating via satellites from the 1920s to the end of the 1950s. TELSTAR turned those dreams into reality when this small (less than lm diameter) satellite was successfully launched into Earth-orbit on 10th July 1962 and it simultaneously caught the imagination of television audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. In keeping with the celebratory theme of the seminar, this paper looks at the technologies and personalities that made satellite communications possible via the TELSTAR project from an historical perspective. What was driving these people forward? What was Project TELSTAR looking to achieve? Why wasn’t it sufficient for transatlantic communications to rely upon the sub-sea cable technology that had developed so immensely over the previous 100 years? What lessons were learned from the project and how have they been applied since? These are some of the questions that will be addressed by firstly taking a brief look at what happened over a 2-week period in July 1962 which was arguably the most intense period of internationally co-operative experimentation known to mankind, with many world firsts attributable to Project TELSTAR and all the many people involved. The story then goes back over the important historical steps leading to TELSTAR, before moving on to an overview of the technical characteristics and related issues and finishing up with a very brief indication of the role of satellites today, illustrating throughout what a marvellous source of inspiration TELSTAR has been and will continue to be for future generations.
