But the engineers could stave off the inevitable only so long: In February 1963 accumulating radiation damage finally caused Telstar 1's transistors to fail irreparably. Fortunately, the energized electrons had dissipated when NASA launched Telstar 2 a year later. By that time both the U.S. and Soviet Union had ceased high-altitude nuclear testing.
*Clarification (7/11/12): This sentence was changed after posting. It originally stated that the first transatlantic telephone call was made via Telstar 1.
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Add CommentThat article states:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"On July 23, 1962, Telstar 1 relayed a public broadcast featuring Walter Cronkite, a baseball game, and segments of a news conference by President Kennedy. That evening, it transmitted the first phone call across the Atlantic."
That may have been the first phone call that Telstar 1 transmitted across the Atlantic, but radio based transatlantic telephone service began in 1927, and the first transatlantic telephone cable began service in 1956.
P.S., Please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transatlantic_telephone_cable
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt was also a hit tune, a rare instrumental that went to number one.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThanks for reminding! A great tune, too, apparently inspired by the satellite success - with enough electric guitar reverb to make the listener think of EM signals 'bouncing' off the satellite...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisJust thought you guys would like to know that the cut-and-paste that jtdwyer did has failed. The article actually states, in part, "it transmitted the first none-cable phone call across the Atlantic." Just thought I'd let you know.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat memories this article brings. The Echo launch was the first sucessful Delta launch and Telstar 1 was the tenth launch. The Echo ballon idea didn't work because the ballon became too wrinkled and didn't efficiently reflect the signals. I remember Eugene O’Neill well. He did a tough job very well. The Delta launch vechile, much upgraded is still launching satellites.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisJust to let you know - the article text has been changed, I presume in response to my comment. Thanks for pointing the correction out to me - I wouldn't have otherwise noticed.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTechnically speaking, the correction still fails to acknowledge the radio-telephone calls made beginning in 1927. They were also non-cable phone calls...
"Its success against the odds inspired a generation of scientists and engineers"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt inspired more than just scientists and engineers. It was the inspiration/namer for the 1962 hit "Telstar" by the Tornadoes, which reached number one on the U.S. Billboard chart. Rhythm guitarist George Bellamy's son Matthew Bellamy would later go on to great fame with MUSE. So I guess it inspired quite a lot of people.
The 1853 Carrington event, a much more strong electromagnetic pulse event originated in a solar eruption, may induce worldwide catastrophic events in communications and power grids if repeated. The soviet fighter MiG 21 had bulb based on-board computers that supposedly resist much better the electromagnetic pulses than semiconductor based units, it had also a flame maintainer inside the engine that prevented engine from shutdown, there's recent work on the possibility of electromagnetic means to stinguish a flame. Some point also that just because these two features, this fighter airplane was called "The terror of saucers". Show must go on....
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