Echo 1, Card No 05 (RaceIntoSpace 1971)
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Card No. 05: Echo 1
Echo 1 was the first American experimental passive communication satellite. After launch from Cape Canaveral on Aug. 12, 1960, into Earth orbit, it was inflated to form a 100-foot diameter balloon. The plastic surface was metal-covered so as to reflect radio waves from a ground-based transmitter to a receiving Earth Station thousands of miles away.
Many successful link-ups were made across the world before leakage of gas caused it to deform and lose its reflecting power.
A spectacular sight, it was seen by many people and it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on April 24th, 1968.
