Exploring the Unknown - NASA's History Office

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THE HISTORY OF SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS
ing on such a satellite, first with the company’s own funds and since 1961 under contract
to NASA. [I-4, I-5] This satellite, Syncom 2 (Syncom 1 suffered a system failure), was
followed by a Syncom 3 mission that was even more successful in demonstrating the feasibility
of high-capacity telecommunications operations in geosynchronous orbit. 10
This lightning-like development was paralleled by progress with military satellites, particularly
the Lincoln Experimental Satellite (LES) series from Lincoln Laboratory, which
tested secure transponders for strategic communications from the National Command
Authority. Together, these accomplishments set the stage for the practical exploitation of
this exciting new technology.
The Creation of Comsat and INTELSAT (1962–1965)
The international civilian communications program soon evolved toward a global network
of “stabilized” satellites in geosynchronous orbits a tenth of the way to the Moon.
The civilian system began with an initial satellite over the Atlantic Ocean (1965), then the
Pacific Ocean obtained service (1967), and finally global coverage was completed with
Indian Ocean service (1969), just as Arthur C. Clarke had envisioned it twenty-four years
earlier.
Although most critical technical choices had been made by 1965, the issue of how to
institutionalize the civilian communications satellite system was far from clear-cut or easily
decided. During 1961 and 1962, there was intense debate in the United States about
public versus private ownership and operations. Political control and financing were also
items of disagreement. Not surprisingly, these issues led to a major political debate in the
United States.
The Eisenhower administration supported the development of satellite communications,
but only if that development was based on private-sector initiatives. 11 [I-6, I-7] When
John F. Kennedy took office in early 1961, however, he expressed a strong support for a
leading government role in communications satellite development. 12 Achieving his objective,
however, meant sorting out within the Kennedy administration the appropriate role
of the government in communications satellite research and development, regulation,
and ownership and operation. [I-8, I-9, I-10, I-11, I-12, I-13, I-15]
Once the administration had developed its position, it had to gain the assent of
Congress. This was not a straightforward task; many in Congress had views on the issue
that differed from the proposed White House policy. [I-14] The net result was that three
10. Dunlap, Communications in Space, pp. 152–55.
11. On December 30, 1960, in one of his last speeches in office, President Eisenhower stated: “This
nation has traditionally followed a policy of conducting international telephone, telegraph and other communication
services through private enterprise subject to governmental control, licensing, and regulation. We have
achieved communications facilities second to none among nations of the world. Accordingly, the government
should aggressively encourage private enterprise in the establishment and operation of satellite relays for revenue
producing services.” Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1960 (Washington,
DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1979), p. 888.
12. The now-famous Kennedy speech of May 25, 1961, that established the goal of sending humans to
the Moon and returning them to Earth also called for the establishment of a global satellite system for communications
that would benefit all countries, promote world peace, and allow nondiscriminating access for all countries
of the world. It called for a “constructive role for the U.N. in international space communications.” Public
Papers of the Presidents of the United States, John F. Kennedy, 1961 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office,
1962), pp. 529–31. Kennedy’s position on communications satellites thus set the stage for the United Nations to
act on this subject as well. In September 1961, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 1721,
Section P, concerning the establishment of a global communications satellite system. Section P stated that “communications
by means of satellite should be available to the millions of the world as soon as possible on a global
and non-discriminating basis.”