On December 18th, 1958, an Atlas B missile lifts off from Launch Complex 11 at Cape Canaveral on a secret mission for the new Advance Research Projects Agency (ARPA).
The Atlas B series of ICBMs, then in its infancy, was experiencing failures that put the United States’ faith in the missile system for defense in doubt. This was coupled with the Soviet Unions’ successful Sputnik launches, demonstrating their ability to deliver large payloads to orbit.
Project SCORE (Signal Communications by Orbiting Relay Equipment) launched aboard an Atlas B as the worlds first communications satellite. What came to be known as ‘The Talking Atlas’, The 150 pound Project SCORE satellite had the ability to deliver, receive, and record communications from ground stations on Earth. The first message from space came prerecorded from President Eisenhower that could be heard as the satellite passed overhead, and began transmitting on December 19th:
“This is the President of the United States speaking. Through the marvels of scientific advance, my voice is coming to you from a satellite circling in outer space. My message is a simple one: Through this unique means I convey to you and to all mankind, America's wish for peace on Earth and goodwill toward men everywhere.”
SCORE not only delivered a message of peace on Earth from the President of the United States, it also signaled the beginning of satellite communications that would come to dominate the years to come - proving that one could deliver a message to a satellite in orbit, and then back down to another point on Earth.
In addition, the message of peace was also a signal to all nations friendly or not, especially the USSR, that the United States had the ability to deliver a nuclear payload to anywhere in the world.
SCORE would re-enter the atmosphere on January 21st, 1959 after transmitting 78 messages between four separate ground stations, proving the viability of satellite communications.
