The rise and fall of COMSAT : technology, business and government in satellite communications / David J. Whalen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Whalen, David J.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Communications Satellite Corporation--History.

Communications Satellite Corporation.

Satellite earth stations industry--United States--History.

Satellite earth stations industry.

History.

United States.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

viii, 278 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.

Summary:

Satellite communications grosses over $100 billion annually and is heading toward $200 billion. COMSAT started all of this in 1963 when it was organized in compliance with the Communications Satellite Act of 1962. COMSAT was responsible for choosing geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO), forming Intelsat, and generally promoting the technological change that saw satellite power increase from the 40 watts of Early Bird (Intelsat I) to the almost 10 kilowatts of Intelsat IX; Earth station antennas were reduced from 30 meters to 1 meter. The business of satellite communications was expanded to mobile communications and, less successfully for COMSAT, domestic telecommunications (DOMSATs) and television broadcasting. After pioneering this technology and growing the market, COMSAT fell prey to changes in government policy (the Intelsat Definitive Arrangements, Reagan's Separate Systems, and ORBIT Act) and to its own lack of entrepreneurial talent. After its purchase by Lockheed Martin in 2000, COMSAT was closed down in 2001. The author explores the factors which contributed to this rise and fall of COMSAT. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 The Communications Satellite Act of 1962 6

2 Creating COMSAT 37

3 Creating Intelsat 67

4 Rising to the Peak 88

5 Mobile Satellite Communications 112

6 Technology 131

7 Domsats (COMSTAR and SBS) 144

8 Direct Broadcast Satellites 172

9 The Old Guard Retires 184

10 Fadeout 203.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 233-270) and index.

ISBN:

1137396911

9781137396914

OCLC:

863595993

Publisher Number:

99958865200