August 12, 1960: NASA launched, Echo 1, developed by a Bell Labs team led by Dr. John Pierce. The satellite consisted of a large metallized balloon that passively reflected radio signals back to earth. Visible to the naked eye at night, it was probably seen by more human beings than any other artificial object in space up to that time. Instrumentation included telemetry beacons and temperature monitors powered by solar cells. This experiment essentially confirmed that communications satellites would need to have active repeaters to be commercially viable

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The SSPI Satellite Timeline is the first interactive site on the Web to chronicle the rich and diverse history of the commercial satellite industry. Launched in October 2007 – the 50th anniversary of Sputnik – the Timeline is a learning tool for satellite professionals, students, the news media and the innovative companies that make up the industry