2. Satellites and telecommunications.

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The idea of communicating through a satellite first appeared in the short story “The Brick Moon” written by the American clergyman and author Edward Everett Hale in 1869. The story describes the construction and launch into Earth orbit of a satellite 200 feet (60 meters) in diameter and made of brick. The brick moon aided mariners in navigation as people sent Morse code signals back to the Earth.

The first artificial satellite Sputnik 1 was launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957. Sputnik 1 was only 58 cm (23 inches) in diameter with four antennas sending low-frequency radio signals at regular intervals. It orbited the Earth in an elliptical orbit taking 96.2 minutes to complete one revolution. It transmitted signals for only 22 days until its battery ran out and was in orbit for only three months but its launch sparked the beginning of the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union.

The first satellite to relay voice signals was launched by the USA government’s Project SCORE (Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment) in 1958. It broadcasted a taped message conveying “peace on the Earth and good will toward men everywhere” from USA Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower.

A worldwide system of satellites has been created and it is possible to transmit signals around the globe by bouncing them from one satellite to an earth station and then to another satellite and so on.

3. Satellites and telecommunications.

Part 3. 1412

It is probable that future wide use of satellites in the area of telecommunications will provide a great variety of information services to transmit directly into our homes possibly including personalized electronic mail.

The electronic computer is at the heart of such systems but the role of telecommunications is not less important. There will be a further convergence between the technologies of computing and telecommunications.

One cannot doubt that the economic and social impact of these concepts will be very significant. Advanced systems of communication are affecting both the layman and the technician.

The new global satellite-communication systems offer three kinds of services. The first one is voice message. Satellite telephones provide worldwide connectivity. That makes them especially useful for travelers and explorers. Today's mobile phones depend on earth-bound transmitters whose technical standards vary from country to country. Satellite telephones can solve this problem but it is not a cheap service.

The second service is messaging. Satellite messages have the same global coverage as satellite telephones but carry text alone which is extremely useful for those with laptop computers. As we see the Internet works in space too. The only problem for ordinary users is one-way transmission.

And the third satellite communication service is broadcasting (Radio, TV, Data broadcasting).