Telstar

Telstar is the name given to a series of communications satellites launched in the early 1960s as part of a joint program by AT&T's Bell Telephone Laboratories in cooperation with NASA and international partners. The goal was to test and demonstrate satellite relay for international communications, particularly transatlantic television and data links.

Telstar 1, launched on July 10, 1962, from Cape Canaveral, was the first active communications satellite in operation. It carried transponders to relay microwave signals between North America and Europe and facilitated the first live transatlantic television transmissions. The satellite was spin-stabilized and designed as a short-lived experimental platform.

Subsequent Telstar satellites, including Telstar 2, continued the experiments and refined the technology. Although limited by the era's capabilities, the Telstar program demonstrated the viability of satellite relay for global communications and provided important lessons for later projects in commercial satellite communications.

Telstar's legacy lies in its influence on the development of international satellite communications networks and the eventual creation of organizations such as INTELSAT. The Telstar designation has since been used for later satellites and related technology by various operators, continuing to symbolize early milestones in space-based communications.