January-February 1978 Volume 3 Number I FILE COPY NOT FOR CIRCULATION COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE CC `^W COMSAT GENERAL CORPORATION Januarl - FehruarN 1978 CONTENTS Volume 3 N umber 1 Page COMSAT at 1 5 1 PATHWAYS is published every other month by the Office of Public 1977 in Focus 3 Information, Communications Sat- ellite Corporation, COMSAT Build- COMSAT's R&D Prog ram Advan ces ing, 950 L'Enfant Plaza, S.W., Satellite Communications Technology 12 Washington, D.C. 20024 . Phone: 202, 554 -6104 or 6105. INTELSAT Board Cuts Full-time Charge for Eighth Year in a 'Row 14 EDITOR John J. Peterson I N] IA SAT I V-A Launched IS PHOTOGRAPHY Bodman Elected Senior VP. Allan Galfund Finance/Corporate Development 15 Michael K. Glasby Contribution of Labs Personnel to STAFF CONTRIBUTORS Communications Satellite Research Daniel N . Crampton Depicted in Mural 6 Allan Galfund Cherry) C. Holt James "f. McKenna News of the Corporation 17 Edgar Bolen , Production PUBLICATION ADVISORS Notes from Personnel 18 ("0M SAT Joseph V. Charyk Network Bits 20 President Lucius D. Battle Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs B.I. Edelson Director , COMSAT Laboratories Robert B. Schwartz Secretary and Director of Public Information Stephen D. Smoke ver. A new mural painted by Artist Terry Deputy Director, Public Information Rodgers is unveiled during dedication ceremonies Manager . Publications at COMSAT Labs (Story on page 16 ) COMSAT GENERAL P1 O I " s B ILL MF<,NA Hale Montgomery Director, Business Promotion A member of the International Association of Business Communicators. © COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE CORPOR•NT ION 1978 J Comsat at 15 The Communications Satellite February 1, 1963, to carry out this cations satellite system, and it Act was passed by Congress and unique legislative mandate. The acted as manager of the fledgling signed into law by President John Corporation was capitalized at ap- organization. F. Kennedy in August 1962. The proximately $200 million through COMSAT introduced a new era in international communications when Early Bird, the world's first commercial communications satel- lite, was positioned over the At- lantic Ocean in April 1965 to link earth stations in North America and Europe. Coverage was extended to more than two- thirds of the world in January 1967 when satellites in the INTEL- SAT 11 series were positioned over both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The global satellite system envisioned by the Congress in the Communications Satellite Act became a reality in July 1969 when a satellite in the INTELSAT III series began to provide service in the Indian Ocean region as well. In that same month the newly created global system enabled one The Communications Satellite Act of 1962 became law when President John F. out of every seven people on Kennedy signed it in a White House ceremony attended by sponsors and sup- porters of the legislation. earth to view man's landing on the moon "Live Via Satellite." COMSAT Laboratories moved new legislation called for the the sale of 10 million shares of into their present facilities in creation of a private corporation common stock in 1964. Clarksburg, Maryland, in Sep- to establish, in cooperation with COMSAT was designated as the tember 1969. The Labs were entities of other countries, a com- U.S. representative in INTELSAT, formed about two years earlier to mercial communications satellite the international joint venture continue the advancement of system on a global scale. formed in August 1964 to estab- satellite communications tech- COMSAT vvas incorporated on lish a single global communi- nology. JANUARY- FEBRUARY 1978 1 1 963 to 1 97 8 The IN'1'ELSA'T IV satellites CON ISA T GF:NF:R\I.. able to all countries of the world. were introduced into (he global In February 1977, the FCC Today satellites are used through- system between 1971 and 1975, authorized Satellite Business Sys- out the globe for international, and the even more advanced IN- tems (SBS), in which COMSAT domestic and maritime communi- TELSAT IV-A satellites began to GENERAL is a partner . to proceed cations. The global satellite sys- provide service in the Atlantic with construction of facilities to tem now has 558 satellite Ocean region in 1976. To work provide their proposed all-digital pathways providing direct lines with the IV-A satellites, second antennas were placed in operation in November 1975 at the Etam, West Virginia, earth station, and in December at the Andover, Maine, earth station , two of the seven U.S. earth stations in the global system. The satellites in the INTELSAT IV-A series are scheduled to be succeeded begin- ning in 1979 by the higher capacity INTELSAT V satellites. COMSAT GENERAI. Cor- poration was incorporated in 1973 as a wholly owned subsidiary. In June 1976, the first of C'O\1- SAT GENERAL'S C'OMISTAR satellites, whose capacity had been leased to AT&T for domestic com- munications , was used to provide COMSAT President Joseph V. C'haryk , left, and Secretary of State William long-distance message telephone P. Rogers sign the agreements for definitive arrangements for INTELSA T on service for the first time in the U .S. behalf of the United States. In .January 1977. satellites of the domestic satellite services subject of communications among more MARISAT System initiated three- to various terms and conditions. than 85 countries. "Through earth ocean service to the T.S. Navy, The SRS system is scheduled to stations or through terrestrial thereby providing maritime satel- begin operations in .January 1981. connections, some 122 countries, lite service for the first time on a Fifteen years ago COMSAT territories and possessions use global basis. The VIARISA7' was given the mission of making the services of the global system System is owned 86.29 percent by satellite communications avail- full-time. ME 2 PATHWAYS ^^ifi fl tl^ t The inauguration o/'Jimmy Carter as the thirty- ninth President of the United States and his meetings with the heads o/'state during the year were viewed widely on satellite television. JANUARY- FEBRUARY 1978 3 C'OMSAT's operations continued lite communications coverage; and to expand in 1977. Satellite Business Systems, in which Full-time services to the carriers C'OMAI Cii\ERAI holds a partnership through the global system increased interest, is approaching the second substantially; h'IARISAT service to the phase of a Pre-Operational Program U.S. Navy was extended into the leading to the provision of its unique, Indian Ocean region to provide the all-digital domestic satellite service Navy with worldwide maritime satel- by 1981. er volumes of information at higher transmission speeds. lobal System Services. At COMSAT's temporary services in S pace Segment. I n 1977 the third the end of 1977, COMSAT was 1977 totaled 9.298 half-circuit days, of the 6,000-circuit INTELSAT leasing 5,315 half-circuits, in- 1,728 fewer than in 1976, but more t v-A sate llit es was placed in cluding 958 half-circuits between the than half of the temporary services service in the Atlantic Ocean region U.S. mainland and Puerto Rico, to provided by COMSAT in 1977 were to where the demand for satellite service the international carriers for tele- restore service interrupted during is the greatest. phone, message, data and facsimile cable breaks. After the successful launch of the communications. This was 19 percent first three satellites in this series, the more than the total leased at the end igital Communications Ser- fourth was lost in September 1977 be- of 1976. D vices. Conts.AT's digital com- cause of a malfunction of the launch It is expected that the mainland- munications services expanded vehicle. This satellite was to he the Puerto Rico traffic will he transferred at an annual rate of 35 percent in first of two tv-.As intended for service to a domestic satellite system in mid- 1977. in the Indian Ocean region where the 1978, pursuant to the FCC policy under At year-end, the U.S. and more demand for satellite service is groov- which the mainland-Alaska and than 30 countries in the Atlantic ing most rapidly. mainland-Hawaii traffic was trans- Ocean region were operating with the On January 6, 1978, the first of the ferred to domestic systems in 1973 SPADE system, an all-digital, demand- Indian Ocean Iv-As was launched suc- and 1976, respectively. assignment telephony service intro- cessfully; it is planned for service he- COMSAT also provides satellite duced in 1973. This high-speed digi- ginning in luly. The second Indian channels for television transmissions, tal data service initiated in 1971 now Ocean Iv-A is scheduled for launch and half-circuits for temporary ser- links the U.S. with nearly a dozen no later than April. vices to meet peak holiday and spec- countries in the Atlantic and Pacific A 4.000-circuit INTELSAr Iv satellite ial events requirements and to restore Ocean regions. And DIGISAT, Covt- continues to provide service in the communications service when there SAT'S low/medium-speed digital data Pacific Ocean region where the are undersea cable breaks or out- service which was previously avail- growth in satellite service is not as ages. able only between the U.S. mainland rapid as in the Atlantic and Indian COMSAT'S television services in 1977 and Hawaii, was approved by the Ocean regions. totaled 1,665 half-channel hours, 101 FCC for use also in the Atlantic Ocean Construction of the new 12,000- more than in 1976. President Car- region. circuit INTFLSAT v satellites was begun ter's trips to other countries and the The unique broadband transmis- in 1977 by the Ford Aerospace & Sadat-Begin Middle East peace ne- sion capability of the satellite offers Communications Corporation with gotiations, which could have been significant service economics, par- the first of the seven satellites in the viewed by more than one out of every ticularly to data users requiring dig- series scheduled for launch during the four persons on earth, dominated in- ital communications networks cap- latter part of 1979.