Reviews
This book, which traces how the US created a satellite communications system that the Kennedy administration aimed to make global, will be of interest to historians of communications and American foreign policy. It makes a fine addition to JHU's stable on technology and standards.
Both Slotten's narrative and research are distinct and outstanding. This is a superb work.
In Beyond Sputnik and the Space Race, Hugh Slotten traces the origin of satellite communications in the 1960s. Applying the social construction of technology method, he analyzes the founding of Intelsat by the Kennedy administration as a means of boosting US influence around the world during the Cold War.
Engaging with a trove of archival records, Slotten's crucial history of early satellite communications spotlights the international dimensions of infrastructure projects. As the book tackles key issues of technical standards, corporate strategy, state power, and geopolitics, it enriches understandings of the massive technological system operating on and beyond Earth.
Book Details
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1. US Industry, the Cold War, and the Development of Satellite Communications
Chapter 2. The Kennedy Administration and the Communications Satellite Act of
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1. US Industry, the Cold War, and the Development of Satellite Communications
Chapter 2. The Kennedy Administration and the Communications Satellite Act of 1962
Chapter 3. Global Satellite Communications and the 1963 International Telecommunication Union Space Radio Conference
Chapter 4. Organizing the First Global Satellite Communications System
Conclusion
Notes
Index