NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) 19970026049: Beyond the Ionosphere: Fifty Years of Satellite Communication

353 Pages·17.1 MB·English

by  NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

J
NASA SP-4217
BEYOND THE IONOSPHERE:
Fifty Years of Satellite Communication
AndrewJ. Butrica, Editor
The NASA History Series
NationalAeronautics and SpaceAdministration
NASA History Office
Washington, D.C.20546 1997
Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Beyond tile Ionosphere: Fifty _t'ars of Satellite Conmmnication/AndrewJ. Butrica,
editor.
p. cm.--(NASA historical series) (NASA SP: 4217)
Includes bibliographical references (p. 289) and index.
1. Artificial satellites in lelecommunication. I. Butrica, Andrew J. It. Series. III. Series:
NASA SP; 4217.
TK5104.B41q 1997
621.382'38--dc21 97-10856
CIP
For sate bythe U.S. Government Printing Office
Superintendent ofDtx:umenls, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washinglon. DC 20402-9328
ISBN 0-16-049054-5
To the pioneering dreamers and doers of satellite communications:
Arthur C. Clarke, who envisioned the geosynchronous orbit and a global
satellite television network;John Robinson Pierce, for transforming the visions of
his science fiction into a science fact, Echo; Col.John H. DeWitt, Jr., and
Zolt_in Bay, for achieving thej_rst successful space communications links;
and James H. Trexl_ who turned the Moon into humanity's first
communications satellite.

Contents
Acknowledgments ....................................................... xi
Introduction .......................................................... xiii
Part I:Passive Ori_ns
(:haptcr 1 Daniel R. Headrick, "Radio \k'rsus Cable: Inlernalitmal .............. 3
Tehwonmunlications Before Satellites"
(;hapter 2 l)avid K. van Ketn¢'tL "Moon ill Their Eyes: ]"do¢m (_ommtmicalion .... 9
Relay at the Naval Research I,aboratory, 1951-1 t)62"
(Jhipter "3 .]on Agal, "M,_)on ReliLx Experiments alJ<_drell Bank" . .............. 19
Part II: Creating the Global, Re_onal, and National Systems
The United States and Canada
Chapter 4 l)onald (]. Elder, "Something of Value: Echo and the Beginnings ..... 33
of Satellite (]omtnut+.icltliotls"
(_hapter 5 (haig B. Waff, "thojc'ct Echo, (;oldstone, and ltohndel: Satellile . ..... 41
(;onnntmications as \:iewed F]on+ the (,round Slalioll"
(]hal)ler (i l)aniel R. (;lover, "NASA Experimental Ccmmnmicatiorls Satellites ..... 51
1!t58-1995"'
Chal3ter 7 l)avid N. Spires and Rick W. Sturdevant, "From Advent to Milslar: .... 63
The U.S. Air Force and the Challenges of Military Satellite
(',<)II111111 lli('it+til )II S"
(:hapter 8 William W. Ward and Franklin W. Floyd, "Thirty $_:'ars of . .......... 79
Spa<,'e (_otm:nttnications Researcl+i and l)eveloptncn! at
I+incoln l+aboratory"
(]hapt.+.'r 9 I)a_idJ. \Vhahql, "Billion Dollar Technology': A Short Ilistorical ...... 95
()v('rview of Ihe Origins o1'( ',onmmrdcations Satellitv "Iechnoh)gn/,
1945-1965"
vii
Europe
Chapter 10 Armro Russo, "I,aunching the European Teleconmnufications ...... 131
Satellite Prowam"
Chapter 11 I,orenza Sebesm, "U.S.-European Relations and the Decision to ..... 137
Build Ariane, the European Launch Vehicle"
Chapter 12 Nigel Wright, '`The Formulation of British and European Policy . .... 157
Toward an International Satellite Teleconmmnications System:
The Role of the British Foreign Oll]ce"
(:halm'r 13 Jonathan F. Galloway, "Originating Comnmnications Satellite ....... 171
Systems: The Interactions of Technological Change, Domestic
Politics, and Foreign Policy"
Part III: The Unfolding of the World System
Geography, Politics, and Culture
Chapter 14 Bert C. Blevis, "The Pursuit of Equality: The Role of the Ionosphere 195
and Satellite Communications in Canadian l)evelopment"
Chapter 15 Zlm '_51in, "The l,ong March to Space: Satellite Communications ..... 205
in China"
Chal)wr 16 Raman Srinivasan, "No Free l,aunch: l)esigning the Indian ......... 215
National Satellite"
Chapter 17 Brian Shoesmilh, "Footprints to the Future, Shadows of the Past: .... 227
Toward a History of Communications Satellites in Asia"
('hapter 18 jos(, Ahshuler, "From Shortwave and Scatter to Satellite: Cuha's ..... 243
International (k)mmunications"
(Jmpter 19 Roberto l)iaz-Martfn, "The Recent ttistory of Satellite ............. 251
(k)mmunications in (_ttha"
Applications
Chapter 20 .Joseph N. l'ehon, "Project SHARE and the l)evelopment of Glohal . . 257
Satellite Conununications"
Chapter 21 EdwardJ. Martin, "The Evolution of Mobile Satellite Conmmnications . . 265
Chal)ter 22 Aclmn I+.(h+uen, "Net (;ain: The Use of Satellites at MCI". ........... 283
viii
Appendices
Appendix A For Further Reading ........................................ 289
Appendix B Timclin(' ()t S(']cclcd Events in the l)cvclopn_cnt of Satellilc . ....... 29?,
(',onmnum'ations
About the Authors ..................................................... 3lll
Glossary of Acronyms .................................................. 307
Index ............................................................... 31 I
The NASA History Series ............................................... 319
ix

Acknowledgments
This volume origin_tlcd :,;t,vct_l ',,<.'avs_g<_ _>ut ot my ,_v<,win._ interest in C,c:,111111tlni<.'ati(_lls
sat¢'llitt's and Ih<.'ivt)<.'ginnil/gs--an i]lttut'st tirol lind bccn sparked by my z-t,s¢,,wchinto the
hislot+x of radar astn-<motnv. The two. ]disc<)vcrcd, had much iti comm_,n. Ithen llR'I _tpuir
ol+(;<.'oru,-¢'W;tshington [!nivcv,+ity gyadtmtc stttdt'nts wllo wcrc preparing, or tltiYtkinR of
ptCl)ari|tg, doctoral Ihest,s _)n tlt(+ hi,,torv of s+itlt'llit(" c<+tnnm|licati_>ns. W(" (l('cidcd to <.h_
so{nothing--{nil{lilly tLndCfitl<.'d, lhottgh perhaps +t c<+nli.'rcnct' scssion--on lit<.' slfl)j('ct
SOtlt¢'tittl<.' ill the near Itttttr<.+.
I,ikc lit<.'pro'+<.!cbia] "l:,csl laid plans ol+mice a,td men," this ]:dan wen! _tstF_t'+,1+ill in a _ood
dirccti<Hl--natncly, an entire conR'vencc ou lit<.' dt+',+ch>l,nt'nt ol s,llcllitc cotnmt|nic;i.-
ti_)ns. Th:tt c<>nFcrcnce would nol have taken platc, h_)wcvcv, x,:<.'rcit n<_t fi)r tlt(' _t,n<.,l()_,-
ily of Ro<_ct I). l.attnitls, NASA (_hit'l llist<_rian, and tilt" NASA l list<_vv ()flicc. l)r. l.aunitts
,n;tdc _tvailabh' tlt<."NASA I[t'atd(it|_trlt'Ys attditoriutn and the Ilistovv ()[tic( +sl+ilII,at:+well +its
_tsnl,dl stil,,¢'tld to co'co| linlilcd cxpt'nscs. Wit|totll his C_+ltti|ttfittg, stti>p<_rl, tilt" conR'r-
t'nct'--atld this "..ohHtl<.'--wl)ttld ll()t h+it',.'c ('olll(" int<> cxisl('l]('{'. It w,ts, IlI<)It'()Vt'I, _t plc+itstut"
t(>work with Dr. [.arm{us and with the cntirc Ilislorv (){lice st,tlF. In particul,w, the diligent
service of Natlint' .l- ..\11([tt'+it_,st'tl wa'.;+itllovt' ,ilt(| bt'voF|d tlt(' c:tll ol+(hlt.,'.
[ it]+,io XWIIll to lll_ltlk l]l()_(" ",,'+:It<+nt'l+'¢t'(I it_, st'ms{Oil Ill<+(l('l'ltl(>l'_ dttl-ing lilt (i)Ilft'l+<.'lICt': ,S'c]via
K. Kra<.:tnct +.senior p_dicy atlalyst ill the (){lice oF l'olicv told l'l+itns _ll lht' Nati_mal
.-\cronalttics and SlmCC Administration, and |brmt+Y NASA (;hit,f llist<_rian; .{{din Krigc,
li>Ytnevlv of th<.' Et_ropt'an Spact' :\gcncy Ilist<wv I'r_!jcct, Ettv<_pc;tn t_niv<.,rsitv ]nstittttc,
Flort+nct +, ;tnd ('tllTt'ItI]'.+ rdi|t+t+lor, (',t'ntc| I_t +I_t+sc_uch in the lli_+t<wx of .";tit'+tot+ _tnd
Tcclmoloi.,ff++ (',it( dt's Nlit'Itt<.': ,;,ct tl¢' l'Indt_stvic, Paris+ l'an_t'l+it E. Mack, l'v<_l('ss(>|-ol
l listory, (:]cmson [:nivcrsilv; _lndJos¢'ph N. Tat_lrcwicz, ProR'ssor oIllistovv, University t)f
M+itYvland, l+,allitnoYc ('.<_ttntv. "]]+_inks. l<_, _) to .l,,I,,t v. E',m]s, \'it<+' l:'rcsidt'Y|t and
l)ir('cl<)r <)I(_omsat [,al)_+r+iu<)cics+ and Mi(ha{'l ()itt_fr+ lbr ,_tl'l_tt1_ilt_ lit<.' tour <+I(_oll|s,tt
l.:tbs. Finally, _tF,pl't'ti;tlit)n is deserved by those who l_ctpcd in tit(" t'dilin<_ :tnd c_mtp<_si-
tioH of lifts volu|nc: .l;tni{' l+t'nt+, N|ich_tcl (3rukovic, P_ttvici,t l,tHkt,nhottsc lall)crt,
Jonathan l,. l:|-i{'dtnan, and _Sl:tnlcv Arlis.
Andrew.]. l_,utri(_t, Editor
xi