Satellite Telecommunications | SpaceNext50

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countries but among several players, particularly the fast-growing economies of China, India, and Japan.</p> <span>See what countries are in›</span> </div> </a> </div> <div class="mega-column mega-feature"> <h4>Chandrayaan</h4> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/chandrayaan-1/" class="megamenu-feature"> <div class="megamenu-thumb" style="background-image: url('https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/chandrayaan-hero-300x300.jpg');"></div> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <h3>Chandrayaan</h3> <p>Chandrayaan-1 is an Indian lunar space probe that used reflected radiation to prospect for various elements, minerals, and ice.</p> <span>Learn more about Indian space probe</span> </div> </a> </div> <div class="mega-column mega-feature"> <h4>After the Moon Landing</h4> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/after-moon-landing-timeline/" class="megamenu-feature"> <div class="megamenu-thumb" style="background-image: 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What steps did the world take?</p> <span>View the Timeline</span> </div> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="megamenu-panel" id="megamenu-2"> <div class="container"> <div class="mega-column mega-feature"> <h4>Architect of Chinese space program</h4> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/qian-xuesen/" class="megamenu-feature"> <div class="megamenu-thumb" style="background-image: url('https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/qian-xuesen-hero-300x300.jpg');"></div> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <h3>Qian Xuesen</h3> <p>Qian Xuesen was a Chinese engineer and research scientist widely recognized as the “father of Chinese aerospace” for his role in establishing China’s ballistic missile program.</p> <span>Discover this engineer pioneer</span> </div> </a> </div> <div class="mega-column mega-feature"> <h4>Paving the way for women</h4> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/valentina-tereshkova/" class="megamenu-feature"> <div class="megamenu-thumb" style="background-image: url('https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/3000x1170-Space-Quiz-Heros-5-300x300.jpg');"></div> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <h3>Valentina Tereshkova</h3> <p>Valentina Tereshkova, Soviet cosmonaut, was the first woman to travel into space.</p> <span>Read about the first </span> </div> </a> </div> <div class="mega-column mega-feature"> <h4>First Chinese in Space</h4> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/yang-liwei/" class="megamenu-feature"> <div class="megamenu-thumb" style="background-image: url('https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/09/liwei-hero2-300x300.jpg');"></div> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <h3>Yang Liwei</h3> <p>Yang Liwei is a Chinese astronaut and the first person sent into space by the Chinese space program.</p> <span>Read more about the first from China</span> </div> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="megamenu-panel" id="megamenu-3"> <div class="container"> <div class="mega-column mega-feature"> <h4>Extraordinary Leaps </h4> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/spacex/" class="megamenu-feature"> <div class="megamenu-thumb" style="background-image: url('https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/06/spacex-hero-300x300.jpg');"></div> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <h3>SpaceX</h3> <p>SpaceX is an American aerospace company founded in 2002 that helped usher in the era of commercial spaceflight.</p> <span>Learn more</span> </div> </a> </div> <div class="mega-column mega-feature"> <h4>What is Space Tourism</h4> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/space-tourism/" class="megamenu-feature"> <div class="megamenu-thumb" style="background-image: url('https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/space-tourism-hero-300x300.jpg');"></div> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <h3>Space Tourism</h3> <p>Space tourism is recreational space travel, either on established government-owned vehicles or on a growing number of vehicles fielded by private companies. </p> <span>Would you go into space</span> </div> </a> </div> <div class="mega-column mega-feature"> <h4>What it means to send a signal</h4> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/satellite-telecommunications/" class="megamenu-feature"> <div class="megamenu-thumb" style="background-image: url('https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/3000x1170-Space-Quiz-Heros-14-300x300.jpg');"></div> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <h3>Satellite Telecommunications</h3> <p>Engineers developed a design for a satellite that would operate in geostationary orbit. </p> <span>Read about its origin</span> </div> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="megamenu-panel" id="megamenu-4"> <div class="container"> <div class="mega-column mega-feature"> <h4>Space Exploration</h4> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/space-exploration-quiz/" class="megamenu-feature"> <div class="megamenu-thumb" style="background-image: url('https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/space-exploration-quiz-hero-300x300.jpg');"></div> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <h3>Space Exploration Quiz</h3> <p>Was Australia the last continent to be discovered? Who was the first human to orbit Earth? From treks through the South Pole to launches into space, test your knowledge of human exploration in this quiz.</p> <span>Take Your Best Shot</span> </div> </a> </div> <div class="mega-column mega-feature"> <h4>Moon Vs Asteroid</h4> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/moon-vs-asteroid-quiz/" class="megamenu-feature"> <div class="megamenu-thumb" style="background-image: url('https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/moon-v-asteroid-quiz-hero-300x300.jpg');"></div> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <h3>This or That? Moon vs. Asteroid</h3> <p>So you’ve got the planets down pat—let’s see if you know your moons. Are these astronomical bodies moons or asteroids?</p> <span>What do you know?</span> </div> </a> </div> <div class="mega-column mega-feature"> <h4>Small Step, Giant Leap</h4> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/small-step-giant-leap-fact-or-fiction/" class="megamenu-feature"> <div class="megamenu-thumb" style="background-image: url('https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/small-step-quiz-hero-300x300.jpg');"></div> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <h3>Small Step, Giant Leap: Fact or Fiction?</h3> <p>Is the Moon the only object in the solar system to have craters? Take a "giant leap"—or a "small step"—and learn more about the Moon in this quiz.</p> <span>Test your knowledge</span> </div> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="megamenu-panel" id="megamenu-5"> <div class="container"> <div class="mega-column mega-info"> <h4> Did you know?</h4> <div class="megamenu-ghost"> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <p>An estimated 650 Million people watched Armstrong’s televised image and heard his voice describe the event as he took “…one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” on July 20, 1969.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1078 size-thumbnail" src="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/moon-landing-hero-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" srcset="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/moon-landing-hero-150x150.jpg 150w, https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/moon-landing-hero-300x300.jpg 300w, https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/moon-landing-hero-600x600.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="mega-column mega-feature"> <h4>Watch The New Space Race</h4> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/video-spacerace/" class="megamenu-feature"> <div class="megamenu-thumb" style="background-image: url('https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/08/spacerace-hero-1-300x300.jpg');"></div> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <h3>Video-SpaceRace</h3> <p>From India to China, the space race is expanding. Take a few minutes to explore videos from around the globe. </p> <span>Watch on</span> </div> </a> </div> <div class="mega-column mega-feature"> <h4>Watch Moon Landing History</h4> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/video-moonlanding/" class="megamenu-feature"> <div class="megamenu-thumb" style="background-image: url('https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/07/0000138702-300x300.jpg');"></div> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <h3>Video-Moonlanding</h3> <p>Watch history unfold. This page highlights stories told in video from Apollo 11 Liftoff to faking the moon landing.</p> <span>Watch on</span> </div> </a> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </header> <main class="main"> <article id="post-617"> <div class="hero"> <img width="3000" height="1170" src="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/3000x1170-Space-Quiz-Heros-14.jpg" class="hero-blurred wp-post-image" alt="Engineers telecommunications" srcset="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/3000x1170-Space-Quiz-Heros-14.jpg 3000w, https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/3000x1170-Space-Quiz-Heros-14-768x300.jpg 768w, https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/3000x1170-Space-Quiz-Heros-14-1024x399.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 3000px) 100vw, 3000px" /><img width="3000" height="1170" src="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/3000x1170-Space-Quiz-Heros-14.jpg" class="hero-featured wp-post-image" alt="Engineers telecommunications" loading="lazy" srcset="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/3000x1170-Space-Quiz-Heros-14.jpg 3000w, https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/3000x1170-Space-Quiz-Heros-14-768x300.jpg 768w, https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/3000x1170-Space-Quiz-Heros-14-1024x399.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 3000px) 100vw, 3000px" /> </div> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="content col-12"> <h1 class="entry-title"><span>Satellite Telecommunications</span></h1> <header class="entry-meta"> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/category/space-business/" class="cat-link"><span class="cat-icon"><img src="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/09/icon-pie-chart.png" /></span><span class="cat-label">Space Business</span></a> <span>·</span>Space business <div class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_34 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/satellite-telecommunications/" data-a2a-title="Satellite Telecommunications"><a class="a2a_button_facebook" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fexplore.britannica.com%2Fexplore%2Fspace%2Fsatellite-telecommunications%2F&linkname=Satellite%20Telecommunications" title="Facebook" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/twitter?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fexplore.britannica.com%2Fexplore%2Fspace%2Fsatellite-telecommunications%2F&linkname=Satellite%20Telecommunications" title="Twitter" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_linkedin" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/linkedin?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fexplore.britannica.com%2Fexplore%2Fspace%2Fsatellite-telecommunications%2F&linkname=Satellite%20Telecommunications" title="LinkedIn" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_email" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fexplore.britannica.com%2Fexplore%2Fspace%2Fsatellite-telecommunications%2F&linkname=Satellite%20Telecommunications" title="Email" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a></div> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p class="has-drop-cap">Although some early space experiments explored the use of large orbiting satellites as passive reflectors of signals from point to point on <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Earth">Earth</a>, most work in the late 1950s and early ’60s focused on the technology by which a signal sent from the ground would be received by satellite, electronically processed, and relayed to another ground station. American Telephone and Telegraph, recognizing the commercial potential of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/satellite-communication">satellite communications</a>, in 1962 paid <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/NASA">NASA</a> to launch its first <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/Telstar-communications-satellite">Telstar</a> satellite. Because that satellite, which operated in a fairly low orbit, was in range of any one receiving antenna for only a few minutes, a large network of such satellites would have been necessary for an operational system. Engineers from the American firm Hughes Aircraft, led by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harold-Rosen">Harold Rosen</a>, developed a design for a satellite that would operate in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/geostationary-orbit">geostationary orbit</a>. Aided by research support from NASA, the first successful geostationary satellite, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/Syncom-2">Syncom 2</a>, was launched in 1963; it demonstrated the feasibility of the Hughes concept prior to commercial use.</p> <div class="ad-unit ad-leaderboard acf/ad-billboard" id="adunit-block_5ce8033fd467d"> <div class="ad-wrapper">  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1559240116728-0' style='height:90px; width:728px;' class="none block-l"> <script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1559240116728-0'); });</script> </div> <div id='div-gpt-ad-1559240229751-0' style='height:50px; width:320px;' class="block none-l"> <script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1559240229751-0'); });</script> </div> </div> </div> <p>The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States">United States</a> also took the lead in creating the organizational framework for communications satellites. Establishment of the Communications Satellite Corporation (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Comsat">Comsat</a>) was authorized in 1962 to operate American communications satellites, and two years later an international agency, the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Intelsat">Intelsat</a>), was formed at the proposal of the United States to develop a global network. Comsat, the original manager of Intelsat, decided to base the Intelsat network on geostationary satellites. The first commercial <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/communications-satellite">communications satellite</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Intelsat-I">Intelsat 1</a>, also known as Early Bird, was launched in 1965. Intelsat completed its initial global network with the stationing of a satellite over the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Indian-Ocean">Indian Ocean</a> in mid-1969, in time to televise the first Moon landing around the world.</p> <div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft is-resized"><img loading="lazy" src="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/SatelliteTelecommunications-531x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1932" width="239" height="461" srcset="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/SatelliteTelecommunications-531x1024.jpg 531w, https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/SatelliteTelecommunications.jpg 615w" sizes="(max-width: 239px) 100vw, 239px" /><figcaption> <br>Telstar 1, launched July 10, 1962, relayed the first transatlantic television signals.<br> <em>Credit: NASA</em></figcaption></figure></div> <p>The original use of communications satellites was to relay voice, video, and data from one relatively large antenna to a second, distant one, from which the communication then would be distributed over terrestrial networks. This point-to-point application introduced international communications to many new areas of the world, and in the 1970s it also was employed domestically within a number of countries, especially the United States. As undersea fibre-optic cables improved in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/carrying-capacity">carrying capacity</a> and signal quality, they became economically and technologically competitive with communications satellites; the latter responded with comparable technological advances that allowed these space-based systems to meet the challenge. A number of companies in the United States and Europe manufacture communications satellites and vie for customers on a global basis. Other firms operate these satellites, often producing significant profits.</p> <p>Other space-based communications applications have appeared, the most prominent being the broadcast of signals, primarily television programming, directly to small antennas serving individual households. A similar emerging use is the broadcast of audio programming to small antennas in locations ranging from rural villages in the developing world to individual automobiles. International private satellite networks have emerged as rivals to the originally government-owned Intelsat, which after 2001 was transformed into a private-sector organization.</p> <div class="wp-block-ugb-divider ugb-divider"><hr align="center" style="background-color:#dddddd;width:50%;height:1px"/></div> <p style="text-align:center"><strong>See related articles:</strong></p> <div class="wp-block-ugb-image-box ugb-image-box ugb-image-box--v3 ugb-image-box--columns-3" style="text-align:center"><div class="ugb-image-box__item" style="background-image:url(https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/3000x1170-Space-Quiz-Heros-9.jpg);height:390px;text-align:center;justify-content:center;border-radius:0"><a class="ugb-image-box__overlay" href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/spacex/"></a><div class="ugb-image-box__content"><h4 class="ugb-image-box__title" style="color:#ffffff">spacex</h4><p class="ugb-image-box__description" style="color:#ffffff">Commercial spaceflight company</p></div></div><div class="ugb-image-box__item" style="background-image:url(https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/outer-space-treaty-hero.jpg);height:390px;text-align:center;justify-content:center;border-radius:0"><a class="ugb-image-box__overlay" href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/outer-space-treaty/"></a><div class="ugb-image-box__content"><h4 class="ugb-image-box__title" style="color:#ffffff">outer space treaty</h4><p class="ugb-image-box__description" style="color:#ffffff">International agreement to use space for peaceful purposes only</p></div></div><div class="ugb-image-box__item" style="background-image:url(https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/3000x1170-Space-Quiz-Heros-7.jpg);height:390px;text-align:center;justify-content:center;border-radius:0"><a class="ugb-image-box__overlay" href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/space-debris/"></a><div class="ugb-image-box__content"><h4 class="ugb-image-box__title" style="color:#ffffff">Space Debris</h4><p class="ugb-image-box__description" style="color:#ffffff">Nonfunctional yet problematic material still in Earth’s orbit</p></div></div></div> <div class="wp-block-ugb-divider ugb-divider"><hr align="center" style="background-color:#dddddd;width:50%;height:1px"/></div> <p>Yet another service that has been devised for satellites is communication with and between mobile users. In 1979 the International Maritime Satellite Organization (Inmarsat) was formed to relay messages to ships at sea. Beginning in the late 1990s, with the growth of personal mobile communications such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/cell-phone">cellular telephone</a> services, several attempts were made to establish satellite-based systems for this purpose. Typically employing constellations of many satellites in low Earth orbit, they experienced difficulty competing with ground-based cellular systems. This has led to these companies, concentrating on specialized applications, such as offering communications services in remote areas where there are no ground-based competitors.</p> <div class="wp-block-ugb-count-up ugb-countup ugb-countup--v3 ugb-countup--columns-2 ugb--background-opacity-5"><div class="ugb-content-wrapper"><div class="ugb-countup__item"><h4 class="ugb-countup__title" style="color:#024565">for 2016</h4><div class="ugb-countup__counter" style="color:#024565;font-size:40px;font-weight:400" data-duration="1000" data-delay="16">$260.5 billion</div><p class="ugb-countup__description" style="color:#024565">Estimated revenues associated with the satellite communications industry (manufacturing, associated ground systems, etc.)</p></div><div class="ugb-countup__item"><h4 class="ugb-countup__title" style="color:#024565">as of 2017</h4><div class="ugb-countup__counter" style="color:#024565;font-size:40px;font-weight:400" data-duration="1000" data-delay="16">400</div><p class="ugb-countup__description" style="color:#024565">Number of commercial geostationary communication satellites around the globe</p></div></div></div> <p>The first commercial space application was satellite communications, and that remained the most successful one. One estimate of revenues associated with the industry for the year 2016 included $13.9 billion from satellite manufacturing, $113.4 billion from selling the associated ground systems, $127.7 billion from the users of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/satellite-communication">satellite communication</a> systems, and $5.5 billion for launching the satellites, for a total of $260.5 billion. As of 2017, there were more than 400 commercial geostationary communications satellites around the world, operated by about 60 different owners.</p> <p><strong><em> Written by </em></strong><a href="https://www.britannica.com/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419"><strong><em>The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</em></strong></a><strong><em>. </em></strong></p> <div class="wp-block-ugb-button ugb-button-wrapper ugb-button--align-center"><div><a class="ugb-button ugb-button--align-center ugb-button--size-normal" href="https://cloud.email.britannica.com/PreferenceCenter"><span class="ugb-button--inner">Like what you’re reading? 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