On July 10, 1962, the communications satellite Telstar 1 was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a mission to beam live television from Europe to the United States.

This was the first privately sponsored space-faring mission. Two days after the launch, Telstar 1 transmitted the world's first transatlantic television signal. This demonstrated that transmitting information via satellite was feasible. Telstar transmitted images of President John F. Kennedy, singer Yves Montand from France, sporting events, Mount Rushmore, and the American flag waving. The satellite was only operational until Nov. of 1962. In that time, it assisted over 400 telephone, facsimile, telegraph, and television transmissions.