The Big Bounce (1962, sound)

[Music] [Applause] [Music] he [Music] the place a Hilltop in New Jersey the setting giant antennas like monstrous eyes and ears straining watching waiting inside the control station a team of Specialists with ultra sensitive electronic equipment ready to probe the vast reaches of the these men are waiting for the CL climax of a dramatic experiment they've been working on for many months in collaboration with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration an experiment known by its code name as project Echo men like Luke Lowry here dick Clan Bill snell1 and Bill Jake project engineer all scientists with the Bell Telephone Laboratories in a few minutes if things go right hell will communicate by telephone in a brand New Way by rooting the call through outer space to Goldstone California 2,300 M away where scientists of the jet propulsion lab are waiting this call will be bounced off a man-made satellite if it works it will be the first time voice has traveled from the earth up to a man-made moon and back to Earth again this is the satellite a huge empty balloon here shown while still in its hanger the inflated balloon is 10 stories high made of a strong new aluminized plastic strong yet only half as thick as the cellophane around a package of cigarettes its aluminum coating gives it nearly 100% reflectivity that balloon will soon be hurtling across the sky A Thousand Miles High over North America yes these men know why they are on this New Jersey Hilltop but Others May wonder even if it works so what who cares about bouncing messages off a space balloon what's the Practical good of it we can telephone almost any place in the world today thanks to Ocean cables we can talk overseas as if to the phone next door this year about 3 million messages will be transmitted across the Atlantic but 10 years from now it is predicted there will be 21 million messages more facilities will be needed [Music] and there are the polar regions where severe atmospheric conditions make radio reception difficult here particularly the military need for alternate communication systems is great powerful microwave transmitters carry telephone calls over Barren and Open Spaces these systems will always service well but today as scientists look ahead they foresee great gaps in our worldwide Communications unless more and different systems can be devised for instance we would like to see live television programs history and the making from all over the world but TV broadcasting presents a special problem one TV channel requires the space of almost 1,000 telephone circuits this requirement is simply too expensive for present systems and even if this problem could be lick today what about tomorrow for many years now Bell Laboratory scientists have been been looking ahead to satellites for communication we are already capable of building a satellite equipped with operating receivers and transmitters which could be made to operate at a much greater height than a simple reflector balloon like that in Project Echo the higher you go the greater the portion of Earth in range of the satellite and the fewer you need to circle the globe a worldwide communication system of satellites like this has already been outlined by the Bell System the plan envisions several strings of equipped satellites altogether about 50 of them orbiting at a height of about 3,000 Mi as the one you were using moves out of range you would switch to the next one coming along and so on and if you wanted to send say a telephone message or a television program to some area not covered by any single satellite the signals might be bounced from transmitter to satellite back to Earth up to a second satellite light and down to the destination that way you could maintain continuous transmission of telephone calls and television programs to various parts of the Earth but scientists have conjectured even far beyond this perhaps someday it will be possible and worthwhile to put up a precisely positioned satellite 22,300 M out which at that distance would revolve in step with the Earth and would seem always to hang in the same place in the sky if it became possible to put three such satellites in orbit together they could cover the Earth but this High orbit 22,000 M system is at best far in the future as scientists wait in New Jersey and California today's experimental balloon satellite the pioneer of worldwide space Communications is already up in the sky 1,000 M high on its first 2hour orbit around the Earth hurtling through the vacuum of outer space ready to relay telephone signals between powerful transmitters and receivers as far apart as New Jersey and California the men in both locations know that when and if it does arrive they will have approximately 15 minutes to bounce their messages from coast to coast off its surface for in 15 minutes it will have swept across the United States and be out of range these men well know the complicated chain of events that is a natural part of missiles and space operations earlier in the day the first big question was would the missile system work hours before down at Cape canabal the Delta missile that would put the echo balloon into orbit was on its launching [Music] pad ready to be guided through space by the command guidance system located in the Bell laboratory's control St station at the cape contr less than a minute remains in the countdown 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 zero as the missile hurdles through space the control center maintains communication with it checks its position and automatically sends any necessary steering orders to keep it on its predetermined path this guidance system was designed by Bell scientists the same system that meets the precise Target demands of the Titan intercontinental ballistic missile its job here is to put the echo satellite in orbit with pinpoint accuracy will it that is the question these men ask themselves as they finish monitoring the guided portion of the missile's flight and will the balloon squeezed into a 26in sphere release okay will it inflate properly or burst into fragments they still have to wait high in the sky the third stage burns out the payload section separates from the engine the protective shell Springs apart releasing the balloon floating clear the balloon is inflated by a chemical powder which instantly vaporizes in the vacuum ofter space the men won't know it for some time yet but balloon inflated and in orbit as the minutes pass scattered tracking stations take up the difficult job of finding the balloon and tracking it now it's up to Bill Jake and these other Communications men in New Jersey and California to find it when they do in addition to transmitting tape recorded messages they will talk together on the telephone but until then they still have their worries this new unique horn type antenna so painstakingly developed here in hell will it really eliminate static it should with the help of new circuitry and this other recently developed equipment called the merer these inventions will make the weakened voice signals come in strong and clear even after their long journey through space this is no ordinary amplifying device it operates in an ultra cold vat of liquid helium at - 457 de F in this super cold world the Mer's Ruby Crystal helps keep the telephone conversation clear and easy to hear which makes the merer one of the greatest new contributions to Communications at last the sweating out period is about over hell is in constant touch with Goldstone by an open telephone on line the first actual transmission bounced off a man-made satellite will be from tape recordings Goldstone has just reported they have picked up the balloon a pinpoint in the sky 100 ft wide 1,000 miles out in space like trying to locate a golf ball a mile away we have it now Bill good let's hope we can keep it the signal looks good Luke tracking looks good [Music] too let's see how gostone is [Music] doing hello Goldstone this is hell we're getting your signal how are you receiving ours strong and steady Bill fine fine okay here we go we're going to start our tape now and you start yours this is President Eisenhower speaking it is a great personal satisfaction to participate in this first experiment in Communications involving the use of the satellite balloon known as Echo this is one more significant step in the United State program of space research and exploration the program is being carried forward vigorously by the United States for peaceful purposes for the benefit of all mankind the satellite balloon which has reflected these words may be used freely By Any Nation for similar experiments in its own interest information necessary to prepare for such participation was widely distributed some weeks ago the United States will continue to make freely available to the world the scientific information acquired from this and other experiments in its program of space exploration it really sounds good here Walt fine Bill and so the first spoken word from man through space to his own satellite and back to man again is the voice of the president of the United States and as the satellite sweeps swiftly out of range further transmission must wait for another passage now sometime later as the balloon again passes over America the same scientists try the first telephone conversation ever bounced from a man-made satellite you can fire up the transmitter right hello Goldstone this is Hell calling calling Goldstone how do you read me hell this is Goldstone you're loud and clear Bill oh wonderful well it looks like all the hard work was really worth it a new bold stride on a long road has been taken the road to Communications between ourselves and others overseas with the same variety and dependability we now enjoy anywhere in our own country the balloon satellite of project Echo is of course for experiment only but it is an exp experiment that may result in a new InterContinental communication system as these men of bell Laboratories and Western Electric continue their round-the-clock program of research and development they are determined to keep America well ahead in the field of communications and today they are looking as all Humanity looks to the vast potentials of outer space [Applause] [Applause] a