Telstar 1

USA

Launch data:

Designation	00340 / 62 A Epsilon1 / 62029A
Launch date	10 Jul 1962 - 08:35:05 UT
Launch site	CC, LC17B
Launch vehicle	Delta-DM19 (#316/D11)
Mission	Telecommunications
Earth orbit on Jul 10, 1962 (.4):
Perigee / Apogee	952 x 5632 km
Eccentricity	0.242
Inclination	44.79 deg
Period	157.65 min
Earth orbit on May 24, 2000 (.04):
Perigee / Apogee	942 x 5643 km
Eccentricity	0.242
Inclination	44.83°
Period	157.75 min

First live broadcasts between the United States and Europe. At the end of 1962, after 4 months, a transistor of the system failed. AT&T managed to repair it! First satellite equipped with transponders and thus amplification: thus first active satellite.

The transistor failure has been blamed on the explosion of a DOD 1.5 megaton explosion at 160 km altitude (project Starfish Prime) days before launch. Source: Appointment on the Moon, Richard S. Lewis, p. 308

Spacecraft data:

Prime manufactor
Platform
Operator
Mass at launch	77 kg
Dry Mass	kg
Basic shape	Sphere
Dimension (m)	0.86 dia
Equipment
Solar array
Stabilization
Propulsion
DC power
Design lifetime	10000 yrs

End of life

Out of service

21 Feb 1963

Mission details:

TELSTAR 1 was launched on top of a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962. It successfully relayed through space the first television pictures, telephone calls, fax images and provided the first live transatlantic television feed.
Telstar 1 operated normally from launch until November 1962, when the command channel began to behave erratically. The satellite was turned on continuously to circumvent this problem. On November 23, 1962, the command channel ceased to respond. On December 20, the satellite was successfully reactivated, and intermittent data were obtained until February 21, 1963, when the transmitter failed.

Satellite tracking:

Real time satellite tracking

Ref: #1, #2, #7, #98a, #206, #228 - update: 03.11.13