Project SCORE satelliteIn 1958, the first American communications satellite was launched. Project SCORE (Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment) was put into orbit from Cape Canaveral using an Atlas B missile, also the first successful trial of the Atlasas a space launch vehicle. The entire rocket was placed into low orbit with the communications equipment integrated into the fairing pods of the missile. The low orbit limited life expectancy of the satellite to only 2 to 3 weeks, thus limiting opportunities for realtime relay between two ground stations. Therefore, a storeandforward mode was added by including a tape recorder, which also gave the satellite a worldwide broadcast capability - the world's first satellite to broadcast voice.[Image: An Atlas-B rocket of the type used to launch the Project SCORE satellite.] |
