English subtitles for clip: File:1962-07-12 A Day in History.ogv
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1 00:00:03,927 --> 00:00:07,032 From a ground station nestled in the mountains at Andover, Maine, 2 00:00:07,032 --> 00:00:10,537 a signal is sent to a speeding satellite, an historic feat 3 00:00:10,537 --> 00:00:12,891 that could reshape man's future. 4 00:00:12,891 --> 00:00:17,808 That satellite, of course, is the Telstar, 170 pounds of 5 00:00:17,808 --> 00:00:20,909 complex electronic equipment that receives signals beamed 6 00:00:20,909 --> 00:00:24,261 from Earth, magnifies them 10 billion times, 7 00:00:24,261 --> 00:00:26,054 and rebroadcasts them back to Earth. 8 00:00:26,054 --> 00:00:29,400 Pictures, telephone calls, telegraph messages, and computer data— 9 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:31,791 all can be handled by the orbiting device. 10 00:00:31,791 --> 00:00:35,293 The Telstar receives its power from batteries that are recharged 11 00:00:35,293 --> 00:00:38,810 by the sapphire-coated solar cells, which in turn are 12 00:00:38,810 --> 00:00:42,170 activated by rays from the Sun, as it hurtles through space 13 00:00:42,170 --> 00:00:47,017 at a low point of 600 miles to a high of 3,500 miles. 14 00:00:48,703 --> 00:00:52,935 The Telstar is settled off from Cape Canaveral, atop a Thor-Delta rocket 15 00:00:52,935 --> 00:00:55,101 in a joint industry-government effort. 16 00:00:55,101 --> 00:00:59,145 A Space Administration team handles the launching for AT&T. 17 00:00:59,145 --> 00:01:02,589 And it's a 50-million-dollar phone call for the telephone company! 18 00:01:02,589 --> 00:01:12,761 [sound of rocket blasting off] 19 00:01:13,110 --> 00:01:16,686 Future plans call for the orbiting of 20 to 25 satellites 20 00:01:16,686 --> 00:01:19,925 like the Telstar. Thus, when one passes out of range of 21 00:01:19,925 --> 00:01:22,368 ground stations, another will be coming into position. 22 00:01:22,368 --> 00:01:25,124 Presently, along with the ground station in Maine, 23 00:01:25,124 --> 00:01:28,730 there is a receiver and transmitter in Great Britain at Cornwall 24 00:01:28,730 --> 00:01:31,442 and in France on the coast of Brittany. 25 00:01:31,442 --> 00:01:34,886 Even as Telstar is launched, the French rush to complete 26 00:01:34,886 --> 00:01:37,559 their installation to receive a signal that night. 27 00:01:37,559 --> 00:01:41,020 Now the rocket climbs far into the atmosphere and the Telstar 28 00:01:41,020 --> 00:01:44,877 is about to separate and orbit the Earth each 2½ hours. 29 00:01:51,141 --> 00:01:53,988 Starting with the sixth orbit and through the ninth, the Telstar 30 00:01:53,988 --> 00:01:56,968 is in range of both the US and European stations 31 00:01:56,968 --> 00:01:59,368 and pictures are received clearly in France, 32 00:01:59,368 --> 00:02:02,813 with somewhat lesser success in Britain on this first test. 33 00:02:02,813 --> 00:02:06,812 The signals are beamed from this 18-story dome that houses 34 00:02:06,812 --> 00:02:10,311 the super-sensitive horn weighing nearly 400 tons, 35 00:02:10,311 --> 00:02:13,805 an antenna so delicately tuned that it picks up a mere 36 00:02:13,805 --> 00:02:17,066 whisper of a signal from a satellite and amplifies it again 37 00:02:17,066 --> 00:02:21,359 billions of times for rebroadcast over cables or the air. 38 00:02:28,782 --> 00:02:32,573 Now comes the historic moment, a moment compared in significance 39 00:02:32,573 --> 00:02:35,044 with the first message sent over the telegraph: 40 00:02:35,044 --> 00:02:38,743 This is the first picture transmitted to outer space and 41 00:02:38,743 --> 00:02:42,801 received back again on Earth! Scenes of the dome at Andover 42 00:02:42,801 --> 00:02:46,881 are flashed across the sea and man marks another milestone 43 00:02:46,881 --> 00:02:52,111 in this age of scientific miracles, so proudly it waves. 44 00:02:57,085 --> 00:02:58,668 What does the future hold? 45 00:02:58,668 --> 00:03:02,064 Well, scientists visualize a belt of Telstars encircling 46 00:03:02,064 --> 00:03:04,702 the globe in such a manner that transmission will be 47 00:03:04,702 --> 00:03:07,861 continuous around the world. Both sides of the Earth 48 00:03:07,861 --> 00:03:11,071 can be in immediate photographic contact, communication 49 00:03:11,071 --> 00:03:13,690 that could bring better understanding among men.