39. The exterior of eight-sided Relay is composed of honeycomb aluminum panels studded with 8215 solar cells.
The world’s first commercial communications satellite was called “Early Bird,” or INTELSAT 1. Built a decade ago by Hughes Aircraft Company for Communications Satellite Corporation (COMSAT), Early Bird could transmit simultaneously on 240 two-way channels for telephone, telegraph, or data transmission. Transatlantic telephone circuit capability increased by 50 percent once Early Bird went into orbit on April 6, 1965. Although the craft had a life expectancy of 18 months, it operated satisfactorily in full-time service for more than three and one-half years.
INTELSAT 2 introduced multipoint communications between earth stations in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. With almost twice the power of Early Bird, INTELSAT 2 proved particularly important as communications support for the Apollo missions to the Moon.
INTELSAT 2 established a global network of three satellites that was effective in linking two-thirds of the world’s people in one communications chain. The first of the series was launched on January 11, 1967. These spacecraft were designed and manufactured by the Hughes Aircraft Company for Intelsat, Inc., and had a design lifetime of three years.
INTELSAT 3 was a series of five communications satellites which provided global coverage for the first time. This INTELSAT had a capacity of 2400 voice, data, facsimile, and telegraph circuits, plus four television channels and had a design lifetime of five years.
The satellite featured a de-spun antenna which remained pointed at a particular area of the globe, while the body of the satellite spun around it. It was the first commercial satellite capable of transmitting voice and television broadcasts simultaneously.
INTELSAT 3 satellites were manufactured by TRW Systems, Inc., for Intelsat, Inc.
Echo 2, Courier 1-B, and Relay are from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; OSCAR 1 is from Project Oscar, Inc.; INTELSAT 1, INTELSAT 2, and INTELSAT 3 are from the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization.