Beyond Sputnik And The Space Race: The Origins Of Global Satellite Communications

Description

A fascinating account of how the United States established the first global satellite communications system to project geopolitical leadership during the Cold War. On July 20, 1969, the world watched, spellbound, as NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped off the Apollo 11 lunar module to walk on the moon. NASA estimated that 20 percent of the planet's population—nearly 650 million people—watched the moon landing footage, which was made possible by the first global satellite communications system, the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization, or Intelsat. In Beyond Sputnik and the Space Race, Hugh R. Slotten analyzes the efforts of US officials, especially during the Kennedy administration, to establish this satellite communication system and open it to all countries of the world. Locked in competition with the Soviet Union for both military superiority and international prestige, President John F. Kennedy overturned the Eisenhower administration's policy of treating satellite communications as simply an extension of traditionally regulated telecommunications. Instead of allowing private communications companies to set up separate systems that would likely primarily serve major "developed" regions, the new administration decided to take the lead in establishing a single world system. Explaining how the East-West Cold War conflict became increasingly influenced by North-South tensions during this period, Slotten highlights the growing importance of non-aligned countries in Asia, Latin America, and Africa. He also underscores the importance of a political economy of "total Cold War" in which many crucial aspects of US society became tied to imperatives of national security and geopolitical prestige. Drawing on detailed archival records to examine the full range of decisionmakers involved in the Intelsat system, Beyond Sputnik and the Space Race spotlights mid- and lower-level agency staff usually ignored by historians. One of the few works to analyze the establishment of a major global infrastructure project, this book provides an outstanding analytical overview of the history of global electronic communications from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Cover Half Title Title Copyright Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Infrastructure, Systems, and Standards Early History of Cable and Radio Cold War Context 1 | US Industry, the Cold War, and the Development of Satellite Communications Response to Sputnik Early Policy for Satellite Communications Frequency Allocation, the International Telecommunication Union, and Space Communications US Government Planning for the ITU during the Cold War 2 | The Kennedy Administration and the Communications Satellite Act of 1962 Kennedy, Outer Space, and Foreign Policy Kennedy Administration and Space Policy Satellite Communications and Commercial Interests Kennedy, the Space Race, and Satellite Communications Welsh and the Space Council Kennedy Administration’s Official Policy Statement Debates about Ownership Decision to Seek Legislation Compromise, Filibuster, and the 1962 Communications Satellite Act 3 | Global Satellite Communications and the 1963 International Telecommunication Union Space Radio Conference National Preparedness and the Cold War Establishment of Comsat Planning in the United States for the 1963 Space Radio Conference Global Campaign for Space Frequencies Negotiating Technical Boundaries 1963 Space Radio Conference Compromise and Closure 4 | Organizing the First Global Satellite Communications System Initial Planning during the Fall of 1962 The UK and Western Europe Organize for Space Science and Technology France and the Decision to Use CEPT Comsat Negotiations and Intergovernmental Meetings in Europe First Intergovernmental Efforts in Europe to Address Satellite Communications The United States, Europe, and the Interim Agreements, February–August 1964 Conclusion Notes Introduction Chapter 1 • US Industry, the Cold War, and the Development of Satellite Communications Chapter 2 • The Kennedy Administration and the Communications Satellite Act of 1962 Chapter 3 • Global Satellite Communications and the 1963 International Telecommunication Union Space Radio Conference Chapter 4 • Organizing the First Global Satellite Communications System Conclusion Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W