Satcom

"Satcom" is also an acronym of, and generic term for, satellite communications.

Satcom K1 being placed into orbit by the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1986. The illuminated (right hand) side of the satellite is one set of solar panels which were extended when the satellite propelled itself to its geostationary orbit

The Satcom series was a family of communications satellites originally developed and operated by RCA American Communications (RCA Americom). Satcom was one of the early geostationary satellites; the first were the Syncom series, in 1964. The first satellite, Satcom 1 was launched on December 13, 1975. The last satellite, Satcom K2, was placed into orbit on November 27, 1985 and was de-orbited in February 2002. Satcom was first superseded and then replaced by the GE series of satellites.

SATCOM stand for satellite communication and it is an artificial satellite that is used to help telecommunication by reflecting or relaying signals back from space and back down to Earth. It is the most powerful form of radio and it can cover far more distance and wider areas than other radios. It can also communicate with words, pictures and other forms of information.

The Satcom system passed to General Electric with its purchase of RCA in 1986. RCA Americom became GE American Communications (GE Americom) and the satellite construction division became GE Astro Space. GE Astro Space was sold to Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin Space Systems) in 1993. In 2001 GE sold GE Americom to SES Global, creating SES Americom.

History

Most early commercial communications satellites were built for and operated by telecoms companies. RCA, with its own RCA Astro Electronics satellite construction business, identified a role for itself as a satellite owner/operator.

Satcom 1 was used as the launching ground for many cable TV services including Superstation TBS and the CBN cable network (now ABC Family). The Weather Channel also was launched on Satcom 1 in 1982. A notable legal battle involved Ted Turner suing RCA to get a Satcom 1 transponder in 1980 for the launch of CNN on June 1, 1980. CNN had been scheduled for a Satcom 3 transponder but that satellite had been destroyed upon launch on December 7, 1979.

Satcom was the first satellite used by broadcast TV networks in the United States, like ABC, NBC, and CBS, to distribute their programming to all of their local affiliate stations. The reason that Satcom 1 was so widely used is that it had twice the communications capacity of the competing Westar 1 (24 transponders as opposed to Westar 1’s 12), which resulted in lower transponder usage costs.

The domestic communication satellite spurred the cable television industry to unprecedented heights with the assistance of a company known as Home Box Office (HBO). Cable television networks relay signals to ground-based stations using satellites. This allowed cable television to enter into the suburban and metropolitan markets, thus allowing HBO to accumulate 1.6 million subscribers by the end of 1977.

Satellite details

Sources

• http://www.astronautix.com/project/satcom.htm
• http://www.skyrocket.de/space/doc_sdat/satcom-1.htm