• 7 hours ago
On April 6, 1965, NASA launched the world's first commercial communications satellite into orbit.

The satellite was named Intelsat 1 and nicknamed the "Early Bird." It was built by Hughes Aircraft Company for a telecommunications company called COMSAT. Early Bird could relay phone, TV, telegraph and fax communications, and it became the first satellite to provide direct and almost instantaneous communications between the U.S. and Europe. It also provided the first live TV coverage of a crewed spacecraft returning to Earth when Gemini 6 splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean. The satellite was deactivated after four years, but COMSAT briefly reactivated it so NASA could use it during the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Transcript
00:00On this day in space.
00:04On April 6, 1965, NASA launched the world's first commercial communications
00:08satellite into orbit. The satellite was named IntelSat-1 and nicknamed
00:12the Early Bird. It was built by Hughes Aircraft Company for a telecommunications
00:16company called ComSat. Early Bird could relay phone, TV, telegraph
00:20and fax communications, and it became the first satellite to provide direct and almost
00:24instantaneous communications between the U.S. and Europe. It also provided
00:28the first live TV coverage of a crewed spacecraft returning to Earth when Gemini 6
00:32splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean. The satellite was deactivated after four
00:36years, but ComSat briefly reactivated it so NASA could use it during the Apollo 11
00:40moon landing. And that's what happened on this day in space.
00:44Music
00:48Music

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