Satellite Firm Has
Knotty Problems
Of Organization
WASHINGTON -CQ)-In a
very few years, it will be possi
ble to relay telephone calls to
nearly any point in the world
through satellites thousands of
miles above the earth.
Other traditional means of
communication television, tele
type, telegram will also be re
layed by satellites on a regular
basis.
In early 1964 individuals in
the United States will be given
a chance to own stock in the
Communications Satellite Corp.,
popularly known as Comsat,
which will establish this com
munications satellite system.
Comsat, a private corporation,
was authorized last year by
Congress after a lengthy filibus
ter on the merits of government
ownership of the system. It will
be owned by communications
carriers, individual citizens, and
when a basis for ownership
is worked out by foreign en
tities. The problems of establishing
the corporation and the system
are knotty. One of the Comsat
incorporators told Congress
early this year that Comsat s
task was like "being required
to put in operation a worldwide
airline the day that the Wright
brothers invented their air
plane." FCC-Comsat Dispute
Several of Comsat's problems
were brought to light in a recent
exchange of letters between the
Federal Communications Com
mission, which is charged with
regulation of the communica
tions satellite system, and Com
sat board chairman Leo D.
Welch. The problems included
an interim plan for financing
Comsat until it has stockholders,
the type of satellite system to be
established, the date of the first
stock issue, a plan for foreign
participation, and regulations
for ground station ownership.
The FCC contended that the
current board of directors was
making many of the decisions
that should be made by the per
manent directors. The perma
nent directors will be elected by
the stockholders, after stock has
been issued.
Comsat contended that until
the present directors had solved
a number of technical and eco
nomic problems, a stock issue
was impractical and would be
highly speculative. For ex
ample, Welch said, until the ap
proximate cost of establishing a
system was determined, it
would be impossible to decide
how much stock it would be nec
essary to issue.
The date of the initial slock
issue has been tentatively set
the next spring. By that time,
Comsat hopes to have settled
enough of the questions now
pending to provide the potential
stockowners with a clear picture
of the operation they will be
helping to finance.
Half of the stock will be sold
to the general public, at not
more than $100 per share. The
public will be allowed to elect
six of the 12 elected directors.
Foreign entities will be able to
buy up to 20 per cent of the
stock set aside for the public.
Officials hope that foreign coun
tries will participate in the U. S.
System instead of trying to es
tablish their own systems.
The other half of the stock is
set aside for carriers, who also
will be permitted to elect six di
rectors. It has been suggested
that the carriers should be re
quired to buy half of the stock
since it is guaranteed that they
can elect half the directors.
But Comsat says that because
the 1962 law permitted the car
riers to own half the stock, they
cannot be required to buy it.
The implication was that the
carriers could buy only token
shares in the corporation until
it becomes profitable probab
ly not for several years but
meanwhile they would be eligi
ble to elect directors.
Type of System
Before deciding what kind of
satellite system to establish, the
corporation is currently study
ing two basic types the medium-altitude,
random orbit sys
tem, using satellites like Re
lay and Telstar, and the high
altitude, synchronous system,
using satellites like Syncom,
which apear to remain station
ary over a fixed point on earth.
There is also the possibility of
combining the two systems.
Many of the technological
problems that effect this deci
sion also must be considered in
light of their effects on the ec
onomics of the corporation and
on the attractiveness of its
stock.
In the random-orbit system
more vehicles would be used.
The ground stations, which send
and receive signals, would be
expensive and must be complex
because of the difficulty of
tracking a series of moving
satellites.
However, the cost of the fail
ure of a satellite during or alt
er the launch would be lower in
the random orbit system be
cause it is believed that five or
six of these satellites could be
launched on the same rocket.
For this reason, and because
the intermediate altitude, random-orbit
satellite has fewer
parts, replacement would be
easier and cheaper. Because the
smaller numbar f pari weans ,
SECTION F
PAGES 1 to S
MedfordJTribune
MEDFORD, OREGON, THURSDAYOCTOBER 24, 1963
less can go wrong, these satel
lites are believed to be more re
liable. A synchronous system, on the
other hand, would operate with
ground stations that would be
simpler and therefore cheaper
because they would not need to
move to track the "stationary"
satellites.
But the cost of a failure could
be as high as $12 million per
satellite, largely because only
one can be launched on a rock
et and extremely precise guid
ance is needed to place the sat
ellite in position.
Because of the synchronous
satellite's great distance from
the earth 22.300 miles there
would be a time lag in voice
communications of six-tenths of
a second. Whether or not this
would deter potential users of
the system has not been deter
mined, but several of the major
carriers that might participate
in the corporation are dubious
enough to force Comsat to con
sider this time lag as a factor
possibly affecting the attractive
ness of stock to the carriers.
Other Problems
There are complicated prob
lems in determining a role for
the Federal Government which
will be acceptable both to the
government and to Comsat.
Of particular importance is
the role the State Department
will play in foreign negotiations.
The 1962 law requires the corpo
ration to notify the Department
of international negotiations and
directs the Department to ad
vise Comsat of foreign policy
considerations. Comsat thus far
has conducted several prelim
inary foreign negotiations, par
ticularly in relation to foreign
participation in the system.
Another area in which the
Government must work includes
research on advanced satellites.
The National Aeronautics and
Space Administration is now
concentrating on studying syn-1
'
muiiuus biueiiue capauuuiea,
presumbaly with an eye toward
future satellite communications.
While Comsat is studying many
aspects of satellite communica
tions, its chief goal is an oper
ational system, using the most
reliable and available satellites.
Even the desirability of es
tablishing a communications
satellite system is questioned.
Radio Corporation of America
board chairman David Sarnoff
has suggested that the present
development of AT&T of trans
istorized cables could postpone
indefinitely the need (or a sat
ellite system.
This, of course, could great
ly affect Comsat's plans. Com
sat, however, is continuing its
present operations, at least un
til there is more concrete evi
dence that AT&T acutally plans
to establish such a cable system.
(Copyright 1963, Congressional
Quarterly Inc.)
BURNED IN EFFIGY Fidel Castro is burned in effigy as
more than 2.000 persons staged a demonstration in Hollywood.
Calif., to urge presidential action to free Cuba. Marchers car
ried chains representing Cuban cnslavment and signs desig
nating their protest as "a day of mourning for Cuba." (UP1)
Measure Would Head Off Wheat Support Drop
WASHINGTON (UPI) - A
bill designed to head off a
scheduled drop in the support
price of wheat was introduced
today by Sen. Robert H. Hum
phrey, D-Minn.
Under existing law wheat
price supports are scheduled to
drop from the 1963 average of
$1.82 per bushel to $1.25 per
bushel for the 1964 crop.
This drop was required when
wheat farmers rejected manda-i
lory production controls for the '
1964 crop. Even the reduced
supports next year will ' be
available only to growers who 1
voluntarily comply with allot
ments. At World Price Level I
Humphrey's bill would set
1964 and 1963 wheat support
prices at the world price level !
currently about $1.35 per!
bushel. But, in addition to the '
support price, eligible farmers
cents a bushel on the rest.
Thus farmers would gross up1
would get tederal domestic
consumption" payments of up
to 65 cents a bushel on half
their production, plus "export
production" payments of 25
cents a bushel on the rest.
Thus farmers would gross up
to $2 a bushel for half their
wheat and about $1.60 for the
rest, an average of about $1.80
per bushel.
Other congressional news:
Civil Rights: President Ken
nedy has thrown the weight of
his personal and political pres
tige into the battle for his civil
rights program. The House Ju
diciary Committee was still
locked in combat today over
whether to approve a stronger
version of the President's bill.
Administration leaders believe
such a version could not get
through Congress, however, and
oppose the broader measure.
Kefauver: Senate leaders set
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today aside for eulogies to th
late Sen. Estes Kefauver, D
Tenn. Kefauver, a crusader
against crime and monopolies
who was the Democrats vica
presidential candidate in 1956,
died Aug. 10 after a heart attack.
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Reclamation Noted ;
SUN VALLEY, Idaho (UPI)-;
A Republican senator from Ida
ho t o d a y questioned the Ken
nedy Administration's sincerity
toward reclamation, contending
that it was based on expediency.
Sen. Len B. Jordan told the
32nd annual meeting of the Na- j
tional Reclamation Association j
that when the administration1
likes the proposals "we have no
trouble getting reports.
"But when a bill is inconsist
ent with a philosophy of para
mount federal authority or is
otherwise repugnant to the ad
ministration, they are dilatory
about reporting, or even fail to
report," he said.
Jordan accused the Demo
cratic administration in partic
ular of a "general attitude ot
complacency ... and perhaps
really one of smug lnamerence
toward the majority of water
people over water rights and
development of tne west.
Two Arrested for
Obscene Movies
PORTLAND (UPI) - Police
said today two men had been
arrested and another was being
sought in connection with what
an officer termed "highly ob
scene" motion pictures.
Samuel I. Thompson, 28, and
Michael Patrick Dillon, 25, Port
land, were arrested on grand
jury indictments charging con
tributing to the delinquency of
a minor. A "John Doe" indict
ment was issued for a man who
has not been identified.
Detective Larry Brown said
several juveniles were reported
involved.
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