Country of Origin: United States of America
Dimensions:
3-D Test: 48.3 x 14.6 x 12.1cm (19 x 5 3/4 x 4 3/4 in.)
Materials:
Housing: Aluminum. Interior electronics: Aluminum, copper, plastic
Early geosynchronous satellites, orbiting more than 35,000 kilometers (22,000 miles) above the Earth, faced a problem: a voice signal traveling from Earth to a satellite and back developed an echo, making phone conversation difficult. In the early 1970s, COMSAT Laboratories developed an "echo canceller" to correct this problem. This invention made communications via satellite similar in quality to local telephone calls and enhanced public acceptance of the new technology.
COMSAT Laboratories donated this artifact to the Museum in 1999.
Gift of COMSAT Laboratories.
