BellaOnline Forums Education Astronomy 55 years ago today - Telstar

The Space Age has changed the way we communicate, and in 1962 Telstar was the herald of this change. It was an experimental satellite, but it helped to make the world more intimate. Telstar was disabled by nuclear testing, but it lives on in a pop song and modern telecom satellites.

Telstar - Herald of the Modern Age

In 1963 there was no internet, mobile phones were still science fiction, intercontinental calls needed an operator to make the connection, seeing on TV distant news events & sporting events needed to wait for the film to be flown in.

Telstar 1, launched on July 10, 1962 was the beginning of something new. It successfully relayed through space the first television pictures, telephone calls, and telegraph images, and provided the first live transatlantic television feed.

Telstar 1's first test transmission was the Stars & Stripes in Andover, Maine sent to the French Pleumeur-Bodou station on July 11, 1962.

This transmission was not broadcast to the public, but was featured in a newsreel report several days later.

Image credit: AT&T

How many artificial satellites have inspired a pop song - number 1 in the USA and the UK? Only one that I know of. (Our natural satellite, the Moon, has many of course!) Here is Telstar, by the Tornados. No lyrics, but a catchy tune.

Beautifully put, Francine.