Synopsis
This short 1963 educational film from Film Associates of California gives viewers an overview of the role satellites play in relaying information across the world, specifically showing how the early satellite developments—focusing on the Echo, Telstar, and Syncom satellites—make it possible for the fast and continuous transmitting of communication signals across the planet. The film opens with a shot of a satellite moving in space and the first television broadcast ever relayed through space via a Telstar satellite (monitors show the American flag, presumably from Andover Earth Station in Maryland). Animation and illustrations are used to show a satellite orbiting Earth, how straight-line signals are sent over the curve of the earth (01:55), and radio signals radiating from a radio tower. The film shows viewers a diagram of the ionosphere and radio signals bouncing off the ionosphere. Several men produce a television show in a broadcast room (03:48). Echo, a shiny reflector balloon satellite, sits in a hanger (05:24). Footage shows Echo being launched on Thor-Delta rocket into space. Viewers see the balloon as it is released and inflated in space. Two men work on a Telstar satellite (06:54). Animation shows how satellites orbit the earth and transmit signals without interruption. Viewers see a diagram of a low-altitude and a high-altitude satellite orbiting Earth. A high-altitude satellite called Syncom is worked on in a lab (10:00). Animation shows how the Echo, Telstar,…
Uploader's description on archive.org
Details
- Running time
- 12 minutes
- Collection
- Ephemeral Films
Subjects on the Internet Archive
- 1963
- Space Satellite
- Communication Satellites
- Stock Footage