Satcom K1 being placed into orbit by the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1986. The illuminated (right hand) side of the satellite is one set of solar panels which were extended when the satellite propelled itself to its geostationary orbit

The Satcom series was a family of communications satellites originally developed and operated by the RCA American Communications (RCA Americom). Satcom was one of the first geostationary satellites. The first satellite, Satcom 1 was launched on December 13, 1975. The last satellite, Satcom K2, was placed into orbit on November 27, 1985 and was de-orbited in February 2002. Satcom was first superseded and then replaced by the GE series of satellites. Image File history File links NASA_Satcom_K1_launch. ... Image File history File links NASA_Satcom_K1_launch. ... The Space Shuttle Columbia seconds after engine ignition, 1981 (NASA). ... 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 using radio at microwave frequencies. ... A geosynchronous satellite is a satellite whose orbital speed equals the Earths rotational speed. ... December 13 is the 347th day of the year (348th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... November 27 is the 331st day (332nd on leap years) of the year. ... This article is about the year. ...

The Satcom system passed to General Electric with its purchase of RCA in 1986. RCA Americom became GE American Communications (GE Americom) and the satellite construction division became GE Astro Space. GE Astro Space was sold to Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin Space Systems) in 1993. In 2001 GE sold GE Americom to SES Global, creating SES Americom. The General Electric Company, or GE (NYSE: GE) is a multinational technology and services company. ... RCA, formerly an initialism for the Radio Corporation of America, is now a trademark used by two companies for products descended from that common ancestor: Thomson SA, which manufactures consumer electronics like RCA-branded televisions, DVD players, video cassette recorders, direct broadcast satellite decoders, camcorders, audio equipment, telephones, and related... Lockheed Martin Space Systems is one of the 5 major business divisions of Lockheed Martin. ... SES Americom is a major commercial satellite operator based in the United States. ...

History

Most early commercial communications satellites were built for and operated by telecoms companies. RCA, with its own RCA Astro Electronics satellite construction business, identified a role for itself as a satellite owner/operator. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is a major unit of Lockheed Martin. ...

Satcom 1 was used as the launching ground for many cable TV services including TBS Superstation and the ABC Family channel (then the CBN Cable Network). The Weather Channel also was launched on Satcom 1 in 1982. A notable legal battle involved Ted Turner suing RCA to get a Satcom 1 transponder in 1980 for the launch of CNN on June 1, 1980. CNN had been scheduled for a Satcom 3 transponder but that satellite had been destroyed upon launch on December 7, 1979. The Weather Channel (TWC) is a cable and satellite television network that revolutionized the reporting of weather and weather-related news by being on 24 hours a day. ... Ted Turner Robert Edward Ted Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American media mogul and philanthropist. ... The Cable News Network, usually referred to as CNN, is a cable television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld [1] [2] (although the latter is not currently recognized in CNNs official history). ... December 7 is the 341st day (342nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ...

Satcom was the first satellite used by broadcast TV networks in the United States, like ABC, NBC, and CBS, to distribute their programming to all of their local affiliate stations. The reason that Satcom 1 was so widely used is that it had twice the communications capacity of the competing Westar 1 (24 transponders as opposed to Westar 1’s 12), which resulted in lower transponder usage costs. The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is a television and radio network in the United States. ... The National Broadcasting Company or NBC is an American television broadcasting company based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... CBS (formerly an acronym for Columbia Broadcasting System) is a major television network and radio broadcaster in the United States. ... Westar was the name for the fleet of geosynchronous communications satellites operating in the C-band which were launched by Western Union from 1974 to 1984. ...

The domestic communication satellite spurred the cable television industry to unprecedented heights with the assistance of a company known as Home Box Office (HBO). Cable television networks relay signals to ground-based stations using satellites. This allowed cable television to enter into the suburban and metropolitan markets, thus allowing HBO to accumulate 1.6 million subscribers by the end of 1977. HBO (Home Box Office) is a premium cable television network with headquarters in New York City. ...

Satellite details

December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... Delta EELV family of launch vehicles (US Govt) Delta rocket (sometimes retroactively called Delta I) Delta II rocket Delta III rocket Delta IV rocket The Delta family of expendable launch vehicles has been a mainstay of the United States space launch capability since 1960. ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (86th in leap years). ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... December 7 is the 341st day (342nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... A geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) is a Hohmann transfer orbit around the Earth between a low Earth orbit (LEO) and a geostationary orbit (GEO). ... April 11 is the 101st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (102nd in leap years). ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 16 is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 28 is the 301st day of the year (302nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 64 days remaining. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Boeing Satellite Systems is a major business unit of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. ... November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... STS 51-A was the fourteenth flight of a Space Shuttle and the second flight of Discovery. ... Shuttle Orbiter Discovery (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) is a NASA Space Shuttle. ... November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Ariane 42P rocket with the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite (Kourou, August 10, 1992) (NASA) Ariane 4 was an expendable launch system, designed by the European Space Agency and manufactured and marketed by the French company Arianespace. ... September 11 is the 254th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (255th in leap years). ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Ariane 42P rocket with the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite (Kourou, August 10, 1992) (NASA) Ariane 4 was an expendable launch system, designed by the European Space Agency and manufactured and marketed by the French company Arianespace. ... August 21 is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Delta EELV family of launch vehicles (US Govt) Delta rocket (sometimes retroactively called Delta I) Delta II rocket Delta III rocket Delta IV rocket The Delta family of expendable launch vehicles has been a mainstay of the United States space launch capability since 1960. ... May 29 is the 149th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (150th in leap years). ... 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 12 is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Crew Robert L. Gibson,(2) Commander Charles F. Bolden, (1) Pilot Franklin Chang-Diaz (1) Mission Specialist Steven A. Hawley, (2) Mission Specialist George D. Nelson, (2) Mission Specialist Robert Cenker (RCA Electronics), (1) Payload Specialist Rep. ... November 27 is the 331st day (332nd on leap years) of the year. ... This article is about the year. ... Crew Brewster H. Shaw, Jr. ... Shuttle orbiter Atlantis landing in 1997 Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-104) is one of five NASA space shuttles. ... March 2 is the 61st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (62nd in leap years). ... 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ariane 42P rocket with the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite (Kourou, August 10, 1992) (NASA) Ariane 4 was an expendable launch system, designed by the European Space Agency and manufactured and marketed by the French company Arianespace. ... SES Astra SA, a subsidiary of SES Global, is a Luxembourg-based corporation which owns and operates the Astra series of geostationary satellites, which transmit approximately 1100 analogue and digital television and radio channels via 176 transponders to 91 million households across Europe. ... June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Mercury Atlas 9 rocket and capsule on pad The Atlas is a venerable line of space launch vehicles built by Lockheed Martin. ... Intelsat is the worlds largest commercial satellite communications services provider. ...

Sources

• www.astronautix.com/project/satcom.htm
• www.skyrocket.de