Jul 10, 2025
July 10, 1962: Telstar I becomes the first active communications satellite
The beachball-sized Telstar I was developed by Bell Telephone laboratories and funded by AT&T, so it was the first privately-sponsored space mission and the very first commercial payload in history. It launched atop a Delta rocket from LC-17 at Cape Canaveral and transmitted the first public live transatlantic TV signal to 16 European countries, the US, and Canada on July 23.
Read more about early American communications satellites here!
📸 Bell Labs | NASA | Smithsonian
