Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer

The Courier program was one of the first attempts to evaluate the possibility of communications via satellite. Managed by the Army Signal Research and Development Laboratory, Courier was the successor to that agency's 1958 Score satellite, the first communications spacecraft.

Courier had one launch failure before a successful mission in October 1960, lasting 17 days. The satellite's primary purpose was to test basic techniques in communications. Courier could actively receive and transmit signals, or, using tape recorders, it could "store-and-dump" information as the satellite passed from one ground station to the next as it proceeded along its orbit.

The Museum's artifact is a prototype and was transferred from the U.S. Army to the Smithsonian in 1965. Notice the solar cells (the blue rectangles) on the exterior of the satellite--they helped to provide power essential for satellite operations. The exterior is partially cut away to reveal the satellite's electronics.

 Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type SPACECRAFT-Uncrewed Manufacturer Philco Corp.
 Dimensions 3-D (On base minus antennas): 144.8 × 132.1 × 154.9cm (57 × 52 × 61 in.)
Storage (Housed in Artex wooden crate): 167 × 151.1 × 183.5cm, 449.1kg (65 3/4 × 59 1/2 × 72 1/4 in., 990lb.)
 Materials Phenolic Resin
Photovoltaic Panels
Aluminum
Wood
Paint
Steel
Copper Alloy
Plastic
Rubber
Paper
Ink
Adhesive
 Inventory Number A19960018000 Credit Line Transferred from the United States Army. Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.