| Show Satellite Opens pens New Age in Communication An old age-old dream has become become be be- come reality with the successful successful success success- ful launching of This pioneering satellite presages a worldwide network Men anywhere anywhere any any- where on the will soon be able to pick up telephones and talk via satellite to others others oth oth- oth ers separated by thousands of miles of land and sea Routinely events of International international international significance will be televised televised tele tele- as they happen Of all the space objects orbited orbited or or- so far is js s the first that millions of people will use directly says the National National Na Geographic Magazine Writing in the May 1962 issue issue issue is is- sue of National Geographic Rowe Findley described the efforts that preceded the launching In n the actual building of Tel Tel- star no hospital ever took greater pains to keep dirt and grime out of the works than did Bell Laboratories research arm of the American Telephone Telephone Tele Tel phone and Telegraph Com Com- pany delicate components components component's components component's com com- are acutely allergic to dust Air was filtered into the white room where the sate satel satellite lite was being assembled Before Before Before Be Be- fore entering workers vacuumed vacuumed umed their shoes and put on lint free nylon caps and gowns Engineers used washable caryon cary cary- caryon on instead of chalk on black black- boards Absolute cleanliness was essential es es- senti aI for one smudgy fingerprint fingerprint fingerprint fin fin- on a vital part could shorten life As one scientist put it Once a a satellite satellite satellite satel satel- lite leaves the launching pad at Cape Canaveral you bring it down for repairs The need for fora a satellite communications system has grown rapidly in the past dec dec- ade Telephone use use has increased increased in in- creased 75 per cent in the United States alone Conventional Conventional Conventional Conven Conven- equipment for domestic and international service is already already already al al- al- al ready overloaded Oceans have been a big bot bot- A limited number of channels both cable and radio radio ra ra- ra dio exist to handle international international calls Yet these calls increased 15 per cent in 1961 Undersea cables are expensive expensive sive and wave short-wave radio is I unreliable Magnetic disturbances disturbances disturbances disturb disturb- ances in the upper atmosphere can play havoc with short wave as it bounces from earth to ionosphere and arid back They may even block it our entirely Immediately after launching launching launch launch- ing began receiving disturbance free disturbance free microwave microwave signals from the earth The tiny satellite boosts the strength of these signals with its solar cells in all and relays them back to the ground Its ability to transmit TV was swiftly proved Its wider radio bands can accommodate many more telephone channels than cables cables cab cab- les and conventional radio equipment Dr John R Pierce director of research at Bell BelI Laboratories ies at Murray Hill HilI New JerSey Jersey Jersey Jer Jer- sey first offered concrete proposals proposals pro pro- for He told National National Na Na- that 20 or 25 satellites could provide enough circuits to handle traffic traffic fic between Europe and Amer Amer- ica To link all the countries of the world would require 30 to 50 But Is js not the only type of communications satellite satellite satel satel- lit lite designed for this purpose Relay and Advent are three of the birds scheduled scheduled scheduled sched sched- to fly in the near future Each of the new satellites will wilt have special duties Some will be used by the military Others will seem to hang motionless motionless mo mo- tio less above parts of the earth instead of circling it All AIl will be in the words of Dr Pierce superhighways compared to country roads in te terms s of traffic |
