Echo, the First Passive Communications Satellite, Is Launched
At a glance:
- Series: Great Events from History II: Science and Technology Series
- Categories: Science, Technology, Inventions, Aviation, Space Exploration
- Subcategories: Scientists, Engineering, Engineers, Astronomy, Astronomers, Cosmology, Communications
- Curriculum: American History 1951-present
- Geographical Location: Florida
- Date: August 12, 1960
Article abstract: The world’s first passive communications satellite was launched, paving the way for the many communications satellites that now circle the globe.
Summary of Event
On August 12, 1960, the Echo I passive communications satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral (later Cape Kennedy), Florida, atop a Delta Thor launch vehicle. Then United States president Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke via a prerecorded message, which was conveyed from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) communications facility at Goldstone, California,...
[The entire page is 1730 words long]
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