The inspiration of our energy company came from Telstar, the world’s first communications satellite which was covered by solar cells.
The first transatlantic television transmission, telephone call and fax transmission was made possible by Telstar. Launched in 1962, Telstar 1 was powered by 3,600 solar batteries. The power produced was a tiny 14 watts.
Telstar was the product of an international collaboration to push the development of satellite communications. NASA, AT&T, Bell Labs and the French and British national post offices were all involved, with Bell Labs doing the actual construction.
A spherical satellite festooned with solar panels and packed with transistors, Telstar used a helical antenna to receive microwave signals from the ground station, which were then amplified and rebroadcast to the main receiving station in southern England.
The satellite was launched July 10 aboard a NASA Delta rocket and placed in an orbit that provided for a narrow, 20-minute transmission period per orbit.
President Kennedy was supposed to launch this historic moment in communications with a trans-Atlantic press conference, but the transmission signal was acquired before JFK was ready, so Ernie Banks may have been the first human image relayed across the Atlantic. Needing to kill a little time, the producers picked up a TV broadcast of a major league ballgame between the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs from Wrigley Field.
In May 1963 Telstar 2 followed.
Since that time photovoltaic arrays have been recharging batteries and powering equipment in space. The solar cells played a vital role in creating the first optic network that revolutionized communications worldwide.
According to the US Space Objects Registry, Telstar 1 and 2 were still in orbit as of June 2009.
