Overland communications worked great as long as power lines were there to transmit the signals; but what to do in cross-continent communications over oceans? The Bell telephone company, in cooperation with the British General Post Office, and the French National PTT (Post, Telegraph & Telecom Office) decided the answer would be in spacebound satellites that could relay signals between the continents. The trio contracted NASA to built and launch the Telstar I, a pioneering piece of equipment.

On this day, July 10, in 1962 the world’s first communication satellite, as well as the first privately-sponsored spacecraft of any kind, Telstar I launched aboard a NASA delta rocket.

The 170-pound orb, resembling in its color scheme Star Wars’ R2D2, was a tiny thing compared to modern satellites. Solar cells covered most of its surface, and an internal rechargeable battery was used to provide extra power for peak times. Its weak transponder meant huge, 300-ft antennae had to be built on ground to communicate with it; and then only for 20 minutes out of each 2.5 hour orbit, when the satellite aligned with the Atlantic ocean.