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 Syncom series of spacecraft (Syncom 1, 2, and 3), all launched during 1963, were the first attempts to test the idea of satellite communications from geostationary orbit.

As satellite communications evolved in the first years of the space age, geostationary orbits gradually emerged as the most effective approach to satellite communications. Spacecraft in this orbit matched the orbital rotation of the Earth and remained continuously over the same geographical area, making communication via satellite reliable and consistent.

Syncom 1 failed soon after launch, but Syncom 2 and 3 each operated for more than two years. In a historic first, Syncom 3 transmitted television signals of the 1964 Olympic games in Tokyo to the United States. Geostationary satellites still provide the bulk of communications via satellite today.

This artifact is an engineering test model (known as T-4), used primarily to conduct tests on spacecraft attitude and reaction control systems. The National Museum of American History transferred this artifact to the Museum in 2006.

 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 Hughes Aircraft Co.
 Dimensions Storage (Aluminum pallet andf frame with fabric dust cover): 121.9 × 121.9 × 119.4cm, 68kg (48 × 48 × 47 in., 150lb.)
3-D: 77.5 × 74.9cm (30 1/2 × 29 1/2 in.)
 Materials Aluminum, Steel, Gold plating, Plastic, Copper, Epoxy, Carbon Fibers, Nylon, Adhesive, Fiberglas, Glass
 Inventory Number A20070112000 Credit Line Transferred from National Museum of American History Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.