Telstar 1

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General

Designation	00340 / 62029A
Launch date	10 Jul 1962
Country of origin	United States
Mission	Telecommunications
Perigee/Apogee	942/5646 km
Inclination	44.8°
Period	157.8 min
Launch vehicle	Thor Delta #11
Launch site	Cape Canaveral

First private active communication satellite

First live broadcasts between the United States and Europe. At the end of 1962, after 4 months, a transistor of the system failed. AT&T managed to repair it!

The transistor failure has been blamed on the explosion of a DOD 1.5 megaton explosion at 160 km altitude (project Stafish) days before launch. Source: Appointment on the Moon, Richard S. Lewis, p. 308

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End of life

Out of service

21 Feb 1963

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External resources

http://telstar50.org/

sat-index articles

Technical data

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Specifications
C-band

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