Page 32 - Intro to Space Sciences Spacecraft Applications

Introduction and History

Figure 1-13. Hubble Space Telescope. The HST was the object of a space 19
shuttle repair mission in 1993.

Commercial Satellites. By far, the largest commercial interest in space
systems is in the relay of information, or communications. Communica-
tion satellites had a humble start with Echo I, launched in August 1960,
which was simply a huge radio-reflecting balloon in low-earth orbit. By
1963, Syncom I demonstrated the capability and advantages of communi-
cating via satellite in a geostationary orbit. Today, over one hundred com-
munication satellites exist in this orbit, each capable of relaying thousands
of telephone calls and television pictures simultaneously around the
globe. In 1962, President Kennedy signed a bill creating the Communica-
tions Satellite Corporation (Comsat), a joint government-industry under-
taking allowing transfer of US.-developed satellite communications tech-
nology for commercial use. The International Telecommunications
Satellite Consortium (Intelsat), with Comsat representing the United
States, promotes international use of these capabilities. Both organizations
have been highly successful.
A similar arrangement exists involving dissemination of data gathered
by the Landsat satellites for which demand by the commercial public has
grown. The French SPOT (Satellite Probatoire de I’Observation de la
Terre) satellite competes in this area, offering high resolution photographs
of points of interest on the earth to news media, governments, and even
military organizations worldwide.