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Communications Satellite

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Satellite with Solar Panels

The orbital relay that carries broadcast signals between continents. Telstar 1 relayed the first live transatlantic television pictures in July 1962, and the geostationary satellites that followed made the live global broadcast, from the Moon landing to world sport, an ordinary fact of the medium.

Facts
Introduced Year
1962 1
Telstar 1, launched July 1962, the first active relay of live transatlantic television; the passive Echo balloon and the Score mission preceded it.
Origin
Echo 1, a passive reflector balloon satellite launched in 1960, showed that worldwide relay of telephone, radio and television signals was feasible; Telstar, launched in 1962, became the first active satellite to relay television directly, including the first live transatlantic television transmission. 2
Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

The signal reached world audiences through the satellite and ground station network.

In Medium

Satellites also carry radio, telephony and data; their milestone role in this atlas is live intercontinental television.

Sources
1. Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.View the Source
2. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationCommunications satellite, More firsts and further experiments section
Quote, Communications satellite, More firsts and further experiments section
Telstar was the first active, direct relay communications commercial satellite and marked the first transatlantic transmission of television signals.
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