Nov 14 1980
From The Space Library
NASA reported that the People's Republic of China had been admitted as the 48th member of the United Nations outer space committee, which the General Assembly had expanded from 48 to 53 members. The president of the General Assembly would appoint five new members, one each from the U.N.'s regional groups; those expressing interest were Upper Volta, Syria, Uruguay, Peru, Vietnam, and Bangladesh. The United States supported admission of the People's Republic but was the sole nay in a 113-1 vote to expand the committee. (NASA Dly Actv Rpt, Nov 14/80)
The Washington Star reported that SBS had bet its future on the launch of a $20 million satellite as the basis of a revolutionary long-distance telephone service. SBS had promised new communications at lower rates than those of AT&T; its network would be the first in the world to use satellites and ground stations alone to transmit voice, data, and video messages from one place to another. Telephone firms had previously transmitted messages by underground cable or microwave-relay towers. The system would connect a firm with its faraway offices without reference to local phone lines: it would use a 16- to 25-foot-diameter antenna installed on a roof or in a parking lot to signal the satellite, which would relay the signal to ground stations at distant company offices and give service not presently available. Computers at far locations could talk to each other at speeds 20 times faster than was now possible; facsimile pictures could be transmitted 200 times faster; and the system would allow customers to hold videoconferences with executives located all over the United States.
SBS had had difficulty in selling its services, designed for companies or government agencies conducting a large amount of nationwide business. It estimated a need for 25 to 30 private-line customers to break even by 1983. Two of its owner companies, IBM and Aetna, were among its 10 customers, and General Motors had asked for three stations to link Detroit, Atlanta, and Dayton. SBS said that the launch, scheduled for November 15, should attract attention and more customers to the company. (W Star, Nov 14/80, B-5)
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