Conventional assumptions hold that U.S. government research and development efforts produced the satellite communications industry. David J. Whalen has looked deeply into the history of the industry and presents remarkable new information to tell a much different story. He finds that most of the satellite technology was privately developed by AT&T and Hughes Aircraft Company, and that the market for satellite communications existed before the government stepped in. In this detailed history of satellite communication's ...
Read More
Conventional assumptions hold that U.S. government research and development efforts produced the satellite communications industry. David J. Whalen has looked deeply into the history of the industry and presents remarkable new information to tell a much different story. He finds that most of the satellite technology was privately developed by AT&T and Hughes Aircraft Company, and that the market for satellite communications existed before the government stepped in. In this detailed history of satellite communication's earliest years, Whalen explains that NASA, the White House, and Congress intervened in satellite communications development to show the world that the U.S. was in the space race and that the billions of dollars the U.S. government planned to spend would result in practical applications. He traces many different outcomes of government intervention, such as the marginalization of AT&T, who designed and paid for the first real communication satellite, Telstar 1; the positioning of Hughes as the dominant commercial satellite manufacturer; and the establishment of geosynchronous Earth orbit as the preferred orbit. Had the market been allowed to operate freely, AT&T would have launched their commercial low-earth-orbit telephone satellite in the 1960s. Many previous histories of satellite communications have emphasized government contributions; this version is the first to focus on the industry's contributions.
Read Less
Add this copy of The Origins of Satellite Communications, 1945-1965 to cart. $19.40, very good condition, Sold by BooksGalore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Kansas City, MO, UNITED STATES, published 2002 by Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good in very good dust jacket. First Edition, first printing with complete number line. Minor surface wear to the dust jacket (i.e. one or two very soft scratches). Interior pages are clean and unmarked. Tight binding. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 238 p. Contains: Illustrations. Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight (Hardcover). Audience: General/trade.
Add this copy of The Origins of Satellite Communications 1945-1965 to cart. $19.43, very good condition, Sold by BookHolders rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Gambrills, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2002 by Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press.
Add this copy of The Origins of Satellite Communications, 1945-1965 to cart. $28.95, very good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2002 by Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very Good. Very Good condition. Very Good dust jacket. (History, communication, Telecommunication, Satellites) A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp.
Add this copy of The Origins of Satellite Communications, 1945-1965 to cart. $46.94, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2014 by Smithsonian Institution Schola.
Add this copy of The Origins of Satellite Communications, 1945-1965 to cart. $54.84, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2002 by Smithsonian Institution Schola.
