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Rising to the Peak

In: The Rise and Fall of COMSAT

Author

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  • David J. Whalen

    (University of North Dakota)

Abstract

The late 1960s through the 1970s saw Comsat complete the task of building the “single global system” of satellite communications. It also saw Comsat’s loss of the manager function at Intelsat. Revenue rose steadily through 1978 and then seemed to boom as COMSTAR (see Chapter 7) and MARISAT (see Chapter 5) came online. Intelsat satellites had grown from 45 Watts and two 25 MHz transponders per satellite to 590 Watts and twenty 36 MHz transponders. Capacity had grown from 240 voice circuits to 15,000—per satellite. EIRP (effective isotropic radiated power) had grown from 10 dBW to 29 dBW—almost a factor of 100. Net income (profit) had a peak in 1975 and then declined—at least temporarily—due to rate of return regulation. During this period man first landed on the Moon and then left the Moon, not to return for half a century or more. The Vietnam War entered its long denouement. Nixon was impeached, stagflation was rampant, and the counter-culture rose and fell.

Suggested Citation

  • David J. Whalen, 2014. "Rising to the Peak," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: The Rise and Fall of COMSAT, chapter 4, pages 88-111, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palchp:978-1-137-39693-8_5
    DOI: 10.1057/9781137396938_5
    as

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