Telstar 1 is a defunct communications satellite launched by NASA on 10 July 1962. One of the earliest communications satellites, it was the first telecommunications satellite, achieving live transmission of broadcast television images between the United States and Europe. Telstar 1 remained active for only 7 months before it prematurely failed due to Starfish Prime, a high-altitude nuclear test conducted by the United States. Although the satellite is no longer operational, it remains in Earth orbit.
History
The idea of relaying information from one point on Earth to another by means of satellites was not new. As early as October 1945, the visionary Arthur C. Clarke published an article talking about it in the specialized magazine Wireless World. His idea was to enable communication between two points which were prevented from direct radio communication by the curve of the Earth, by relaying the information by radio through an orbiting satellite. During the Cold War, the shock caused by the successful launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, by the Soviets increased the United States' interest in aerospace research. Soon thereafter, the Americans began their attempts to launch orbital communications satellites for transmitting telephone, radio, and television signals.
In December 1958, the United States successfully launched its first communications satellite, SCORE. Through it, then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent a Christmas message to the entire world.