July 10, 1962: The launch of Telstar 1, developed by a Bell Laboratories team led by Dr. John Pierce and funded by AT&T, marked the beginning of the commercial satellite industry. A non-geostationary satellite, it carried the first transatlantic TV images and the first live satellite phone conversation between AT&T Chairman Fred Kappel and Vice President Lyndon Johnson

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Visit the SSPI Satellite Industry Timeline to tour the decades of the Satellite Era

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