U.K. May Launch Space 'Telephone Exchange’

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29263, 22 July 1960, Page 15

U.K. May Launch Space 'Telephone Exchange’

(Rec. 8.30 p.m.) LONDON, July 21. Britain could have the first communication satellites in orbit before the end of the year, the “News Chronicle” reported today. British scientists and engineers have designed a satellite that could be a telephone exchange in space, the newspaper said.

It would carry not only more speech channels than any undersea cable, but also act as a relay station for television programmes. Neither the United States nor Russia had anything so advanced. The Prime Minister (Mr Macmillan) however, has not yet made up his mind whether Britain should have her own independent space programme. He is committed to a decision within the next 10 days. the "News Chronicle” said.

The Blue Streak and Black Knight rockets—some of which are ready for firing—could jointly put a communications satellite into orbit 22.300 miles above the earth. At that height, the satellite would circle at a speed which

would keep it in the same position in relation to the earth. Phone calls across the world could be relayed from a ground radio station to one satellite, then bounced across to another and so on until beamed back to earth. The communications satellites—four would be needed—could carry phone messages and television programmes at half the cost of present tele-communica-tion systems. Scientists estimate that the eost of maintaining a space programme would be only £l5 million a year. The return on that money from those depending on British communications could be as much as £BO million.