Satellites

On October 4, 1957, the soviet union launched Sputnik 1, the first communications satellite. Sputnik 1 was a 23-inch, 184-pound ball of metal that contained a radio receiver and transmitter, using what is today the Citizens Band, or radio frequency, and it signaled not only the beginning of instantaneous global communications but it was an important milestone in the cold war. It was the soviets launch of Sputnik that led U.S. president John F. Kennedy to declare four years later that, the United States would be the first country to put a man on the moon, by the end of the 1960s. Communications satellites have upgraded communication networks in at least two ways. First they have substantial communications capacity. This means more information, communications, or media content can be distributed. Second, because they are positioned high above earth satellites can permit ground-based to communicate with parties in remote corners of the globe. A signal can be sent from one location on earth, bounced off the satellite, and relayed to a distant location that also has a line of sight with the satellite. Satellites have played an important role for the military and we are seeing satellite imagery being used increasingly in services like Google maps in which people can see an amazingly high-resolution satellite photographs of neighborhoods.

Sources: Pavlik, J. V., & McIntosh, S. (2011). Converging media: a new introduction to mass communication (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

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