Abstract
The history of satellite communications is a rich one that began centuries ago with the efforts to interpret the meaning of the “wandering planets” among the stars and to understand the structure of the cosmos. Early scientists such as Sir Isaac Newton and writers of speculative fiction both contemplated the idea that humans might one day launch artificial satellites into orbit for practical purposes. This chapter provides a brief overview of that rich international history up through the early days of global satellite operations. This history continues to provide a narrative concerning the different types of satellites that have evolved to offer various kinds of services and the development of competitive satellite networks that are at the core of the communications satellite industry today. A brief history of military satellite systems and the “dual use” of commercial satellite systems to support defense-related communications needs is also addressed.
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Notes
- 1.
History of the Transistor, http://www.inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa061698.htm.
- 2.
Op cit. J. Logsdon et al. 1998, p. 42.
- 3.
Intersputnik International Organization for Space Communications, http://www.intersputnik.com/.
- 4.
The International Telecommunication Satellite Organization, http://67.228.58.85/dyn4000/itso/tpl1_itso.cfm?location.
- 5.
The Creation of the International Maritime Satellite Organization (IMSO) in its current form, www.imo.org/conventions/contents.asp?doc_id=674&topic_id=257.
- 6.
ITU Radio Regulations, Article 1, Definition of Radio Service, Section 1.25, http://www.ictregulationtoolkit.org/en”practiceNote.aspx?id=2824.
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Pelton, J.N. (2017). History of Satellite Communications. In: Pelton, J., Madry, S., Camacho-Lara, S. (eds) Handbook of Satellite Applications. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23386-4_35
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