Pleumeur-Bodou Ground Station was an early ground station in north-west France, and one of the first in the world. It was the site of the first satellite transmission between the US and Europe in the early morning of 11 July 1962 (French time), lasting 19 minutes on the satellite's seventh orbit.[1]
| Pleumeur-Bodou Ground Station | |
|---|---|
 Earth receiving dishes in 2008 | |
  Location within Brittany | |
| General information | |
| Type | Earth station |
| Location | Pleumeur-Bodou, Brittany |
| Coordinates | 48°47′06″N 3°31′26″W / 48.785°N 3.524°W |
| Construction started | 1961 |
| Completed | 1962 |
History edit
The tracking station was developed by France Télécom, now known as Orange S.A. The site was built by the Centre national d'études des télécommunications, which became France Télécom R&D in 2000.
There was also another nearby tracking station at Lannion, which is also the landing point for the Apollo (cable system) from the USA.
First transatlantic satellite broadcast edit
The first transatlantic satellite broadcast took place at the site on the morning of 11 July 1962. Later that day, France broadcast back to the USA via the satellite.
Structure edit
The site is around three miles east of Trébeurden. The site has three large parabolic antennas.
Antennas edit
- PB8
See also edit
- Raisting Satellite Earth Station, in Germany
- TAT-1, first submarine transatlantic telephone cable, on 25 September 1956
- TAT-8, first transatlantic fibre-optic cable in 1988
- Transatlantic communications cable
References edit
External links edit
