‘Welcome back to our Invention Series! In our previous post, we talked about how the history and evolution of hard disk technology, changed the world of data storage. This week we are looking at another groundbreaking invention that changed the world – communication satellites.

Who would have thought that a bunch of fancy metal things floating above us would change the way we communicate? Well, it did! Satellites have revolutionised global communication networks by enabling the transmission of signals across vast distances. And boy, did it revolutionise weather forecasting! Thanks to those geostationary meteorological satellites, we can now see weather patterns in real-time. You can’t deny that you’ve secretly pretended to be a weatherman at least once.

The idea of satellite communications was first proposed by Arthur C. Clarke in 1945, and we haven’t looked back since.

The Soviet Union launched the first communications satellite, Sputnik 1, in 1957. And guess what, the United States followed suit in 1962 with Telstar 1. The launch of early satellites in the 1960s spurred private sector interest in communication satellites.

NASA and private companies such as AT&T and Hughes Aircraft Company launched a series of satellites, culminating in the launch of Early Bird by Comsat in 1965, which provided the first continuous satellite communications link.

And here we are today, enjoying the fruits of that early labor. Satellites have brought us television and radio broadcasting, internet connectivity, GPS navigation, and even military communications – it’s like a one-stop shop for all our communication needs! Plus, it’s the only fully commercial space technology that generates sales worth billions of dollars.

Satellites enabled the continuous exchange of video, audio, and data information between distant locations, allowing people to witness and react to historic events in real-time. From the launch of Sputnik 1 by the Soviet Union in 1957 to the launch of the smallest low orbit device in 1999, satellites have changed the way we live and work. They’ve connected us to people and places on the other side of the world and opened up a world of possibilities for communication and information sharing.

So, the next time you’re using GPS navigation to get around or binge-watching your favorite show, remember that it’s all possible because of satellite communications. And with the impact of this invention continuing to be felt for generations to come, who knows what kind of crazy communication technology we’ll have in the future? Maybe we’ll finally be able to communicate with aliens!