Bold First Steps by Syncoms 2 and 3
The second in a series of articles celebrating the 40th anniversary of the launch of Syncom 2, the world's first geosynchronous satellite
"Kingsport, this is Lakehurst. Kingsport, this is Lakehurst. How do you hear me?"
This simple message carried as much historical significance as the first telephone transmission of speech by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876: "Mr. Watson, come here. I want to see you."
A satellite relay transmitted the query from a technician at Lakehurst, New Jersey, to the U.S. Navy ship Kingsport at Lagos, Nigeria, proving that the Syncom 2 satellite, launched hours earlier, indeed worked. On that day, July 26, 1963, the door to instant global communications was flung open.
Syncom 2 was developed and built by Hughes Aircraft Company (whose satellite manufacturing unit later became Boeing Satellite Systems) to demonstrate the feasibility of communications from geosynchronous orbit, which offers numerous advantages over low-Earth orbit.
A few months after being launched, Syncom 2 proved its value on the world's center stage. The 78-pound satellite relayed a phone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and Nigerian Prime Minister Abubaker Balewa. It was the first live two-way call between heads of state by satellite relay, paving the way for routine phone conversations between world leaders.
On August 19, 1964, Syncom 2 was joined in orbit by Syncom 3, the third of three geosynchronous satellites built by Hughes under a contract with NASA. Syncom 3 was deployed in time to provide the first live television coverage of an Olympics, relaying the 1964 Games in Tokyo.
From their geosynchronous perches, the satellites worked in tandem to expand direct, 24-hour communications to two-thirds of the Earth's surface. After the Department of Defense assumed stewardship of them, Syncoms 2 and 3 served as the primary communications link between Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific during part of the Vietnam War while continuing to carry television and telephone transmissions.
The two satellites remained active through 1966, far exceeding their one-year design life. They were decommissioned and retired in April 1969.