Project SCORE (Signal Communications Orbit Relay Equipment) was the world’s first communications satellite. Launched in an Atlas rocket on December 18, 1958, SCORE provided a first test of a communications relay system in space and captured world attention by broadcasting a Christmas message via short wave frequency from President Eisenhower thru an onboard tape recorder. This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... U.S. military MILSTAR communications satellite A communications satellite (sometimes abbreviated to comsat) is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purposes of telecommunications. ... Mercury Atlas 9 rocket and capsule on pad The Atlas is a venerable line of space launch vehicles built by Lockheed Martin. ... December 18 is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dwight David Ike Eisenhower (October 14, 1890–March 28, 1969), American soldier and politician, was the 34th President of the United States (1953–1961) and supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II, with the rank of General of the Army. ...

The SCORE satellite, an acronym for Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment was designed and built by Kenneth Masterman-Smith, a military communication research engineer, along with other personnel with the U.S. Army Signal Research and Development Laboratory (SRDL) at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey in a six-month effort. The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... Ft. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area  Ranked 47th  - Total 8,729 sq. ...

The payload used store and forward technology, weighed 68 kg (150 pounds) and was built into the Atlas rocket. SCORE was placed into a 183 km by 1,481 km (114 mile by 920 mile) orbit, inclined 32.3 degrees, with a period of 101.5 minutes. Its batteries lasted 12 days and it reentered the atmosphere on 21 January 1959. Almost fifty years ago, on 18 December 1958, the world's first communications satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Store and forward is a communications technique in which messages are sent to a intermediate station where they are kept and sent at a later time to the final destination or to another intermediate station. ... A mile is any of a number of units of distance, each in the magnitude of 1–10 km. ... January 21 is the 21st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The launching device for the communications package was an Air Force Atlas rocket. Both the rocket and its payload were placed in orbit.

SCORE was basically an experiment designed to test the feasibility of transmitting messages thru the upper atmosphere from one ground station to one or more other ground stations. The result of the project was unquestionably a major scientific breakthru which proved that active communications satellites could provide a means of transmitting messages of all sorts from one point to any other on the planet Earth.

The very first transmitted message from space to the world below:

"This is the President of the United States speaking. Through the marvels of scientific advance, my voice is coming to you from a satellite traveling in outer space. My message is a simple one: Through this unique means I convey to you and all mankind, America's wish for peace on Earth and goodwill toward men everywhere." The presidential seal was used by President Hayes in 1880 and last modified in 1959 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii. ...

External links

• http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/score.htm

• http://www.narmc.amedd.army.mil/patterson/score.htm