Components for the Telstar Project

The papers comprising Part 3 of this issue describe the design, performance, and reliability considerations of the major components utilized in the Telstar spacecraft and certain of the unique electronic components of the earth station. Those papers pertaining to components of the spacecraft were presented orally at Bell Telephone Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey, on November 14, 1962, to representatives of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Department of Defense, and many electronics and space companies. Particular emphasis was placed on the reliability requirements of spacecraft components and the means taken to ensure satisfactory life of the communications satellite. This issue highlights reliability by describing those steps taken to design, fabricate, test, and certify components to ensure reasonable certainty of operation for the communications satellite experiment. Companion papers presenting descriptions of the Telstar system are contained elsewhere.1 This paper is devoted to a broad description of component reliability as related to the design of the system. Consideration is given to the means for obtaining highly reliable components within a time schedule which precluded highly specialized manufacture and long term life testing. 1659