From the Hughes Aircraft Company comes this 1980s education film, Satellites of Hughes, that gives viewers a brief look at the development and launching of commercial geostationary satellites manufactured by the Hughes Aircraft Company. The film opens with shots of astronauts in a space shuttle and the launching of a commercial satellite from space. At the Hughes Company’s High Bay-area satellite assembly facility, several astronauts look at the SBS and Anik-C satellites (01:10). The two satellites are launched into space from Hughes’ HS-376 satellite bus (02:00). Footage shows the shuttle’s sun shield opening and the spinning satellite is launched. Animation is used to show the satellite’s motor firing up and getting it into orbit; the same is shown (animation) for the Anik-C. They are the first two commercial satellites launched. A Syncom satellite is worked on in a Hughes Lab (05:00); it is launched in 1963. Next, the film shows the headquarters of the newly created Intelsat Group (05:55). The “Early Bird,” or Intelsat I satellite, is launched. Footage broadcasted by this satellite includes footage of astronauts driving a rover on the moon (06:44). Researchers work in a laboratory on the geostationary satellites. Viewers see the Intelsat IV satellite (07:55), which is used for global communications and television broadcasting. A Hughes engineer works on another satellite (08:40). The film gives a quick overview of the Westar program and the Westar satellites. Next, viewers see Comstar satellites waiting inside a Hughes facility (09:20). A Marisat series satellite sits in the facility (10:00); it is one of the first maritime telecommunications satellites. Footage shows the HS-376 being developed (10:26); it is a spin-stabilized communications satellite bus. The crew of NASA’s Shuttle No. 7 (STS-7), with the first female astronaut Sally K. Ride, visits the Hughes satellite facility and observes the geostationary satellites (11:30). A weather satellite is developed for Japan’s weather agency (12:30), and it is maneuvered inside the Hughes facility. Men work on other weather satellites. The film shows shots of earth taken from the weather satellites. A painting and an animation show viewers what Intelsat VI looks like (14:06), the biggest satellite ever built. The film concludes with footage of satellite dishes, space shuttles taking off, and satellites being launched from a space shuttle.
SBS 1 was a geostationary communications satellite designed and manufactured by Hughes (now Boeing) on the HS-376 platform. It was ordered by Satellite Business Systems, which later sold it to Hughes Communications. It had a Ku band payload and operated on the 149°W longitude.
Intelsat Corporation—formerly INTEL-SAT, INTELSAT, Intelsat—is a communications satellite services provider. Originally formed as International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO, or INTELSAT), it was—from 1964 to 2001—an intergovernmental consortium owning and managing a constellation of communications satellites providing international broadcast services. As of March 2011, Intelsat operates a fleet of 52 communications satellites, which is one of the world’s largest fleet of commercial satellites. They claim to serve around 1,500 customers and employ a staff of approximately 1,100 people.
The Boeing 376 (sometimes referred to as the BSS-376, and previously as the HS-376) is a communications satellite bus introduced in 1978 by Hughes Space and Communications Company. It was a spin-stabilized bus that the manufacturer claims was the first standardized platform.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
