JANUARY 4, 1963 The Telstar I satellite, which for almost two months could not be turned on to transmit communications signals, is reactivated by Bell Laboratories engineers. (The story of this ingenious electronic detective work is told in detail on pages 78 to 85.) FEBRUARY 14, 1963 The first Syncom satellite is launched by NASA, but its communications systems do not operate. It is the first satellite to try for a synchronous path, revolving around the earth once every 24 hours and thus appearing to hover continuously over the same longitude. Syncom is a short cylinder 28 inches in diameter and 15½ inches long, and weighs 86 pounds. Like Telstar and Relay, it is powered by a combination of solar cells and nickel-cadmium batteries, but it is designed to handle only one two-way telephone conversation and cannot transmit television. [Illustration: {uncaptioned}] MAY 7,1963 The Telstar II satellite is launched for the Bell System by NASA. (See page 31.) What About the Future? As this is written (June 1963), second Relay and Syncom launchings are in the offing. And there are plans for more experimentation with passive satellites, including a new, more nearly rigid Echo balloon. Further in the future, studies are going on of a proposed Intermediate Altitude Communications Satellite for military use in the 6,000- to 10,000-mile-high range (beyond that of Telstar and Relay) and Advanced Syncom, a synchronous satellite of increased capacity. Work is also continuing to acquire new technical knowledge that will be needed in the future—such as various methods of keeping satellites stabilized in space and new ways of supplying power, including improved solar cells and the use of radioisotopes. The ultimate goal, of course, is a working commercial communications satellite system. Exactly when this will be a reality—and what form it will take—are questions whose answers still lie ahead of us. [Illustration: _The orbits of four communications satellites vary in size and shape_] Echo I 1000 miles 1000 miles Relay I 4612 Miles 820 miles Telstar I 3531 miles 592 miles Telstar II 6697 miles 604 miles Project Telstar In this section we will go into some detail about Project Telstar. We do this because much of what we learned from this project applies to the general field of satellite communications. The problems that were faced and solved are typical of the challenges that working engineers and scientists must meet today. And there is, of course, another reason to put this much emphasis on Telstar: The six case histories in Part II of our book were written by men who were involved with that project. Before reading their accounts it will be helpful for you to have some background information about it. What Project Telstar Was Designed To Do