Its origin and purpose still a total mystery. — 2001: A Space Odyssey
Arthur C. Clarke (16 December 1917 – 19 March 2008) was a British science fiction author, most famous for his novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, and for collaborating with director Stanley Kubrick on the film of the same name.
Clarke’s most important scientific contribution may be his idea that geostationary satellites would be ideal telecommunications relays. He described this concept in a paper titled “Extra-Terrestrial Relays — Can Rocket Stations Give Worldwide Radio Coverage?”, published in Wireless World in October 1945.
Just in time for the Apollo 11 lunar landing in July 1969, Intelsat completed a sequence of launches that placed satellites in space over each of the three ocean regions foreseen by Clarke nearly 25 years earlier. As Intelsat satellites beamed live coverage of Neil Armstrong’s “giant leap for Mankind,” Clarke joined Walter Cronkite in the “global broadcast booth” to provide expert commentary on the mission.
Vanguard I celebrated its 50th birthday this week as both the first solar-powered satellite and the oldest artificial satellite still orbiting Earth.
The United States launched Vanguard I on March 17, 1958, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, as part of the opening salvoes in the Space Race.
The Soviets had earlier launched Sputniks I and Sputnik II, while the U.S. had managed to get Explorer I into orbit. Vanguard I fell silent in 1964 after its last solar cells died, but continues to allow scientists to discover the effects of the sun, moon and atmosphere on satellite orbits.
Vanguard II, launched on February 17, 1959, was the first satellite designed to observe and record the cloud cover of the earth. It was a forerunner of the television infrared observation satellites (TIROS).
The first geosynchronous satellite was Syncom 2, launched on a Delta rocket B booster from Cape Canaveral 26 July, 1963. It was used a few months later for the world’s first satellite relayed telephone call, between U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Nigerian Prime minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.
The first geostationary communication satellite was Syncom 3, launched on August 19, 1964 with a Delta D launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral.
The satellite, in orbit over the International Date Line, was used to telecast the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo to the United States. It was the first television program to cross the Pacific ocean.
IEEE Spectrum Radio has what may be Arthur C. Clarke’s last interview, conducted in January 2008 (while Clarke was in the hospital) where Clarke discusses space elevators and private-sector space travel.
