Intelsat I

Intelsat I F1 ( " Early Bird ") was the first commercial geostationary satellite television world and the first of the International Telecommunication Satellite ( Intelsat ).

Intelsat I was the Communications Satellite Corporation ( COMSAT ) by the Space and Communications Group of Hughes Aircraft Company, later Hughes Space and Communications Company and now part of Boeing Satellite Systems built on the basis of the Syncom satellites NASA and on April 6, 1965 conveyed at a Delta -D rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida into space.

The satellite was baptized by the New York Times for lack of a catchy name " Early Bird " ( early risers ). He was acquired by the U.S. News and Society Comsat sold years later to the global news organization Intelsat satellite on. Early Bird transferred from his position 35,800 km above the equator at 28 ° west longitude on 2 May 1965, the TV entertainment show "Premiere in space " on both sides of the Atlantic. On June 28, 1965, he officially took up his commercial service. Despite the planned service life of only 18 months, he worked more than three years and was only switched off in January 1969, but reactivated for two months in June 1969 for the Apollo 11 mission again. Many years later (1984 ) he was reactivated briefly for the twentieth anniversary of the ITSO.

Early Bird was cylindrical, spin stabilized and could 240 telephone conversations or one television program transmitted. Without drive, he weighed only 34.5 kg. The transmit power of the two transponders ( one for each direction of Europe - America and back ) amounted to 6 watts total power 40 watts. He had a diameter of 72 centimeters and a length of 59 centimeters.