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Beyond THE Ionosphere Fifty Years of Satellite Communication Edited by Andrew Butrica J. — Beyond the Ionosphere Fifty Years of Satellite Communication October1995markedthefiftiethanniversaryofArthurC. Clarke'sfamousarticlein Wireless Worldproposingtheuse ofsatellitesplacedingeosynchronousorbit forworldwide communicationsrelay.Thearticleprovedprophetic, forit heralded the modern era of telecommunications. Beginning in the early 1960s, several series of satellites were launched into Earth's orbit; collectively they trans- formed the latter twentieth century, creating a global village ofinstantaneouscommunications. Previously, the ionospherehaddefinedthelimits ofradio communication; today, by going beyond the ionosphere, broadbandtelecommunicationhasenteredanewage.This book describes the first attempts to go beyond the ionosphere, including both the earliest uses of the Moon as a passive, natural relay satellite and Project Echo, the mas- sive inflated satellite off which Earth stations bounced radiosignals, aswellascontemporarycommunicationsvia active-repeaterartificialmoonsinorbitabouttheEarth. It analyzes both American and foreign satellite communications, the histories of several satellite communications companies,therolesofgovernmentagencies,andthecon- tributionofresearchlaboratories. Thebookisacollectionofpapersoriginallypresenteddur- ingan internationalsymposium held inWashington, D.C., atthetimeofthefiftiethanniversaryofClarke's 1945arti- cle.Contributionsfromhistoriansandotherscholarsfrom throughouttheworldpresentastimulatinganalysisofone ofthemostimportantglobaltechnologiesatworktoday andhowitoriginatedandevolved. Andrew Butricahas edited a comprehensive and illumi- J. natingcollectionofarticlesonthisimportantsubject. Itis vital readingforanyoneseekingtoimderstand the history ofglobaltelecommunicationsinthetwentiethcentury. Andrew Butricareceived his Ph.D. in the historyofscir ence anJd. technology at Iowa State University. He is a research historian in Franklin Park, NewJersey, specializ- ing in the history of science. In 1990 Praeger Publishers issued his Out of Thin Air: A History ofAir Products and Chemicals, Inc., 1940-1990; in 1996 his book To See the Unseen: A History ofPlanetary Radar Astronomy was pub- UshedintheNASAHistorySeries. AbouttheCover: "EndeavourandIntelsat,"acrylicbyJimAlford.A nine-daymission (7-16May1992) accomplishedthecapturecfthe Intelsat ^7satellite and thesubsequent matingofthesatellite to a boosteranditseirentualredeployment. In thispainting, thefloating architectural components symbolize the union ofthe Space Shuttle Endeavour with thecommunicationssatelliteIntelsat. Courtesy of theNASAArtProgmm,no. 92-HC716. /V^3 \.zi\\ H3.|^ From the collection ofthe J f d y n m r, k Prelinger ^ ^ Jjibrary ^ P b t vv e San Francisco, California 2007 DO NOT CIRCULATE VtflTHDRAVlH Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/beyondionosphereOOunitrich BEYOND THE IONOSPHERE: Fifty Years ofSatellite Communication NASASP-4217 BEYOND THE IONOSPHERE: Fifty Years ofSatellite Communication Andrew Butrica, Editor J. The NASA History Series National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration um^T4M NASA History Office Washington, D.C. 20546 1997 LibraryofCongress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Beyond the Ionosphere: FiftyYears ofSatellite Communication/AndrewJ. Butrica, editor. p. cm.—(NASAhistorical series) (NASASP: 4217) Includes bibliographical references (p. 289) and index. 1. Artificial satellites in telecommunication. I. Butrica, AndrewJ. II. Series. III. Series: NASASP; 4217. TK5I04.B48 1997 62I.382'38—dc21 97-10856 CIP ForsalebytheU.S.GovernmentPrintingOffice SuperintendentofDocuments,MailStop:SSOP,Washington,DC 20402-9328 ISBN 0-16-049054-5 To thepioneeringdreamers and doers ofsatellite communications: Arthur C. Clarke, who envisioned thegeosynchronous orbitand aglobal satellite television network;John Robinson Pierce,for transformingthe visions of his sciencefiction into a sciencefact, Echo; Col.John H. DeWitt,Jr., and Zoltdn Bay,forachievingthefirstsuccessfulspace communications links; andJamesH. Trexler, who turned theMoon into humanity'sfirst communications satellite.