Reel to Reel Tape Recording of the 1st Satellite Signals in Space c1958

So this is a fascinating and somewhat fun piece of Space and communication history. Hand recorded on tape  in June 1958 by the Mackay Radio &  Telegraph Co in New York, it contains audio transmissions collected by them of the 1st satellites sent into space by the USSR and US.

As a company Mackay produced Marine transmitters and receivers at the time, and these early Satellite signals were collected by them at their Long Island Receiving Station during the launch of Sputnik 1 in October 1957 to the launch of Sputnik 3 in May 1958.

Running on one side only at 11 minutes long (at 3.75 ips) the recording is split into 7 segments with a single narrator briefly introducing each signal. The tracks are of:

1. Sputnik 1- the 1st Satellite in space- launched by the USSR on 4th October 1957
2. Sputnik 2- Launched by the USSR on 3rd November 1957
3. Explorer 1- Launched by the US on 31st January 1958
4. Vanguard 1 – Launched by the US on 17th March 1958
5. Explorer 3- Launched by the US on 26th March 1958
6. Rare combined recording of Explorer 3 with Vanguard crossing in the background- recorded 28th March 1958
7. Sputnik 3- Launched by the USSR on 15th May 1958

I’m intrigued by why staff at Mackay Radio & Telegraph would have collected and preserved these transmissions, but these early Satellites were certainly all over the news at the time and people on the ground could have tuned in to hear the signal of the Satellites passing overhead.

You can hear a short snippet of the reel below, which will instantly transport you to those exciting and scary days of the Space Race!