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1946 U.S. Army bounces first radio signal off the moon, providing proof-of-concept for satellite communications.
1954 U.S. Navy uses moon as reflector to transmit first earth-to-earth voice radio message. Reflector concept becomes cornerstone of modern satellite communications.
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1957 Former Soviet Union launches Sputnik, the first artificial earth satellite, marking the start of the space age.
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1958 U.S. Army launches Project SCORE, the first communications satellite. It’s the first test of a communications relay system in space and captures world attention by broadcasting a Christmas message from U.S. President Eisenhower.
1962 Bell Labs, NASA and French and British Telecom design and launch Telstar 1, marking the birth of private-sector satellite communications. Telstar 1 uses C band frequency. It represents the first international space collaboration.
1965 U.S. Air Force and Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Labs launch first X band frequency satellites, demonstrating military applications of space technology.
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1969 Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon spurs continued space and satellite innovation.
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1975 HBO launches U.S. television broadcasts with live satellite feeds to cable affiliates illustrating the integral role satellites will play in the growth of cable TV.
1976 U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) agency publishes MILSATCOM,
the first comprehensive satellite communications architecture for defense,
underscoring the U.S. military’s application of satellite communications
for intelligence gathering.
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1980 Ted Turner launches the Cable News Network (CNN), leveraging satellite communications to broadcast breaking news 24 hours a day.
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1991 Coalition forces execute Operation Desert Storm. Satellite communications provide critical connectivity to accelerate completion of military mission.
1993 NASA delivers breakthrough in satellite-based Internet communications with the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) launch. ACTS pioneers the use of Ka band frequencies and spot-beam transmissions, the foundation for technological advances such as telemedicine, e-learning and videoconferencing.
1994 DoD launches the Milstar satellite program for emergency military communications, featuring more than 1,000 earth stations for use across land, sea and air.
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1996 DoD leverages Ka band and commercial satellite infrastructure to deliver map and video data to warfighters on the front lines, via portable earth terminals. Deployed in Bosnian peacekeeping operations.
1998 U.S. Central Command transports earth terminals from DataPath into Kuwait to establish communications hub, marking the military’s adoption of commercial satellite earth terminals.
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1999 DoD introduces the Global Information Grid (GIG), a military computing network that will enable instantaneous battlefield communications via satellite communications.
Transportable earth terminals from DataPath support Allied Forces in the Balkans.
2001 U.S. Operation Enduring Freedom deposes the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Satellite communications, including network solutions from DataPath, are central to the War on Terrorism.
2003 U.S. military leverages satellite communications to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Transportable earth terminals from DataPath are driven into Baghdad to provide communications infrastructure for coordinated peacekeeping efforts.
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2004 Transformation of the U.S. Army under way through the Joint Network Node (JNN) program, a next-generation, network-centric communications infrastructure. JNN leverages satellite technologies to empower warfighters.
Key to the JNN, DataPath supplies portable earth terminals that deliver communications to soldiers wherever they are, no matter the terrain.
2005 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) take high-resolution video images of the terrain in Iraq.
That video intelligence is communicated across the chain of command, including the U.S. Marines on the front lines, via a satellite video network solution from DataPath.
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