Display Status:
This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Collection Item Summary:
By the late 1970s, communications via satellite had become a vital part of national and international life. The Comstar satellites were emblematic of this development. Built by Hughes Aircraft for American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T), then the dominant provider of telecommunications services in the US, the Comstars were AT&T's first effort at using satellites to complement its extensive system of ground-based communications.
The satellites were launched from 1976 to 1981. The last Comstar continued operation until 2002.
Hughes Aircraft donated this 1/24 scale model of a Comstar satellite to the Museum in 1975.
Collection Item Long Description:
Data Source
Restrictions & Rights
Manufacturer
Credit Line
Materials
- Plastic
- Stainless Steel
- Copper Alloy
- Steel
- Paint
- Ink
Dimensions
- 3-D: 30.5 x 11.7 x 10.2cm (12 x 4 5/8 x 4 in.)
- Storage: 35.6 x 13.7 x 13.3cm (14 x 5 3/8 x 5 1/4 in.)