View source for Echo 1, Card No 05 (RaceIntoSpace 1971)

{{RISCard1971|{{BASEPAGENAMEE}}.jpg|05|Echo 1|12th August 1960
|Echo 1 was the first American experimental passive communication [[satellite]]. 
After launch from Cape Canaveral on Aug. 12, 1960, into Earth orbit, it was inflated to form a 100-foot diameter balloon. 
The plastic surface was metal-covered so as to reflect radio waves from a ground-based transmitter to a receiving Earth Station thousands of miles away. 

Many successful link-ups were made across the world before leakage of gas caused it to deform and lose its reflecting power. 

A spectacular sight, it was seen by many people and it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on April 24th, 1968.}}

{{Satellite}}
{{USA}}