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"[Science fiction] is the one literary medium left in which we have a free hand. We can do any damn thing we please."
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![]() Herman Potočnik published a book proposing that it was possible to live in space in 1929. In it, he talked about inhabited space stations in geostationary orbit. Clarke expanded on this idea, proposing a trio of devices poised over the earth and able to communicate with each other in direct line of sight.
In the same document, Clarke elaborates on the capabilities of a telecommunications satellite:
The period of revolution of a satellite around the earth is fixed by its distance from the center of the earth. It just so happens that if you put a satellite in orbit 22,300 miles above the earth's surface in the same direction as the earth's rotation, it will appear to stand still above the same spot. Compare this to the International Space Station, only about 250 miles above the surface of the earth, which goes once around the earth every 90 minutes or so.
The first geosynchronous satellite was Syncom 2. Syncom was a program of three experimental, active communication satellites which was started by NASA in 1961.
See also this PDF reproduction of the October, 1945 Wireless World article entitled "Extra-terrestrial Relays: Can Rocket Stations Give World-Wide Radio Coverage?" Comment/Join this discussion ( 7 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
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Science Fiction
Timeline
Nuclear Plant Restarted To Power AI To Feed Us Dreams
'...Anything was possible in my imaginary environment.'
SpaceX's Starman Tesla Roadster In Space
'Somewhere in space, a chrome and blue automobile raced the green light of Earth.'
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'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair...'
Who First Thought Of A Tin Foil Hat?
'We had discovered that metal was relatively impervious to the telepathic effect.'
Warp Drive Tech Back On The Menu
'Detailed plans for the construction of the Gundstetter-Halone warp drive were flowing.'
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'Do not waste your priceless company on the unappreciative folds of a sleep pod...'
Robot Baristas Learn Their Trade Without Paying Royalties
'...so we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.'
JAXA Int Ball 2 Coming Right Along As Star Wars Remote
'Hocus-pocus religions and archaic weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side.'
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