On the afternoon of July 23, 1962 the World shrunk in a matter of minutes, as Telstar, the first global communications satellite in human history, connected the USA and Europe for an inter-continental, cultural exchange, of sorts.
It was a LIVE program that started with video of the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower, followed by coverage of a Phillies-Cubs Game in Chicago and a greeting from President Kennedy in Washington DC.
While Telstar orbited the Earth every 90 minutes, it could only maintain a useable signal between the American Uplink in Andover, Maine and the UK receive site in Goonhilly Downs for a 20 minute interval.
Later that same day , the first ,Trans-Atlantic phone call, made via Satellite, was placed. Telstar was only in service for about six months, until it's transistors failed in February of 1963.
But, it only needed 20 minutes to change the course of history. Here is a link to NBC News coverage of this seismic shift in communications technology that brought the continents closer together without their moving an inch!!!:)
Enjoy!!!!
