QuickCheck: Is the world's first communications satellite still in orbit?

THE world we live in today depends on man-made satellites; from long distance video meetups and phone calls to watching football games at a mamak eatery, a communications satellite is involved at some point.

As such it goes without saying that we've come a long way from the launch of the very first communications satellite in July 1962 and since then, it's been claimed repeatedly that this satellite – Telstar 1 – is still floating in Earth orbit to this very day.

Is this true?

VERDICT:

TRUE

Yes, Telstar 1 is still floating in outer space 61 years after it was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida, USA on July 10, 1962, due in part to its eliptical orbit around the Earth.

This satellite – no bigger than a large beach ball and weighing 171kg – is also the first-ever privately developed satellite, as it was built by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) to test basic features of communications in space.

Following its launch, Telstar 1 set many firsts in proving the usefulness of communication satellites as along with relaying faxes and phone calls, Telstar 1 made the first live long-distance television broadcast possible, connecting the United States and France.

It also had a scientific function, as it also carried experiments to measure the distribution of protons and electrons in the Van Allen Belts.

The Van Allen Belts are a zone in which charged particles from the Sun are captured by the Earth's magnetic field.

Coincidentally, it was an artificial radiation belt that took Telstar 1 offline for good; it was deactivated in February 1963 due to prolonged exposure to an artificial radiation belt created by the Starfish Prime nuclear bomb test that took place on July 9, 1962.

And now, this milestone of humanity now circles the Earth silently; it is viewable on a clear dark night with binoculars, if you know where to look.

SOURCES

https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/communications-satellite-telstar/nasm_A20070113000

https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/displayTrajectory.action?id=1962-029A

https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1962-029A

https://spacecenter.org/mission-monday-five-fast-facts-about-telstar-the-worlds-first-active-communications-satellite/