Maybe we haven’t conquered outer space yet, but there's little argument that we have made bang-up progress since the first attempts to get into the heavens. The space age actually began in 1946, when captured German V-2 rockets were used to take measurements in the upper atmosphere. Prior to this, scientists used balloons that went up about 20 miles and radio waves were used to study the ionosphere. This continued to about 1952.



The U.S. had been considering launching orbital satellites since 1945 under the Bureau of Aeronautics of the United States Navy. The U.S. Air Force at first considered satellites to be a tool for science, politics, and propaganda. Following pressure by the American Rocket Society, the National Science Foundation, and the International Geophysical Year, military interest picked up and in early 1955 the Air Force and Navy were working on Project Orbiter, which involved using a Jupiter C rocket to launch a little satellite called Explorer 1 on January 31, 1958.

Meanwhile, in 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the earth's first artificial satellite. It sent back the first images of outer space, beating the United States by one year, and resulting in the first satellite transmissions from room. From that we have evolved to what we take for granted today in terms of satellite television. This is considered the beginning of the room race between the U.S and the U.S.S.R.

This contention between the Soviet Union and the United States pretty much ushered in the beginning of satellite intercommunication. By 1973, Canada’s satellite Anik I became the world’s first satellite television network. It was primitive by today's standards, but it was a start. See more of this subject at http://www.yesastronomy.com.

Today, the method of Satellite TV has gotten very effective: we now get clear signals, reliable transmission, and several providers that guarantee that there’s always something good to watch. And, with VCRs and TiVo you can record your favorite shows and watch them when it's convenient for you.

The coach potatoes of this today thus began their affections for TV satellite networks. HBO began broadcasting their signals to cable companies, who sold you access to the channel via subscription. The problem, naturally, was that for every channel you subscribed to you had to pay a little extra. This was not acceptable news for the austere channel surfers who want to have over 100 channels accessible. And it got pretty frustrating for those who heard about a new movie or sports event being shown, only to discover that the signal was blocked and accessible only to premium subscribers.

But soon cable companies and satellite dish companies recognized the potential in making satellite television transmission accessible to everyone at an affordable price. Today it's hard to find a household that does not have cable or satellite broadcasted into their habitat.

So maybe the space race of history isn't what it used to be. We may or may not colonize Mars in our lifetime. But at least we can watch transmissions from around the world in real time. Remote control fans rejoice!