Voices from space
Television (TV) programmes no longer mention that the programme is transmitted via satellite. This is further evidence of the tremendous success in industrializing space, which has become an integral part of our lives. Communication satellites are literally entangling the world with invisible threads. The idea of communication satellites was born soon after the Second World War, when A. Clarke in the October 1945 issue of Wireless World magazine presented his concept of a repeater communication station located at an altitude of 35880 km above the Earth.
Clark's merit was that he determined the orbit in which the satellite was stationary relative to the Earth. This orbit is called Clark's geostationary or orbital orbit. At movement on circular orbit in height of 35880 km one coil is made for 24 hours, i.e. for the period of daily rotation of the Earth. A satellite moving in such an orbit will be permanently above a certain point on the Earth's surface. The first communications satellite Telstar-1 was still launched into low-Earth orbit with parameters of 950 x 5630 km, it happened on July 10, 1962. Almost a year later, the Telstar-2 satellite was launched. In the first TV show was shown the American flag in New England on the background of the station in Andover. This image was transmitted to the UK, France and the American station in New Jersey 15 hours after the launch of the satellite.
Two weeks later, millions of Europeans and Americans watched the negotiations of people on the opposite shores of the Atlantic Ocean. They not only talked, but also saw each other, communicating via satellite. Historians can consider this day as the date of birth of space TV.
The world's largest state satellite communication system is created in Russia. It was started in April 1965.
The launch of the "Lightning" series satellites, which are placed in highly elongated elliptical orbits with apogee over the Northern Hemisphere. Each series includes four pairs of satellites orbiting at an angular distance of 90 grams from each other.
The first Orbita long-range space communications system was built on the basis of the Lightning satellites. In December 1975, the family of communication satellites was supplemented by the Rainbow satellite operating in geostationary orbit. Then, the "Screen" satellite with a more powerful transmitter and simpler ground stations appeared. After the first development of satellites, a new period in the development of satellite communications technology has begun, when satellites began to enter the geostationary orbit, where they move synchronously with the rotation of the Earth. This made it possible to establish a round-the-clock connection between ground stations using the new generation of satellites: the American Sinkom, Earlly Bird and Intelsat Russian - Rainbow and Horizon.
A great future is associated with the placement of antenna complexes in geostationary orbit.