218 HISTORY OF THE COMMITTE1 ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 



We arc pleased to have our colleague, Congressman karth, sit with the sub- 

 committee. Congressman karth 's subcommittee investigated the military require- 

 ments for communications satellites. It is very useful to have that continuity with 

 your presence, Congressman karth. 



The purpose of the Hechler hearings was to air the hotly com- 

 petitive claims of the commercial developers, particularly Hughes 

 Aircraft Co., which was developing a synchronous satellite, and Bell 

 Telephone Laboratories, which had developed the medium-altitude 

 relay satellite known as Telstar. "There is high expectation that the 

 satellite will perform as designed," the Hechler subcommittee reported 

 concerning the Hughes satellite, Syncom. In 1964 Syncom became the 

 world's hrst geostationary satellite, maneuvered into synchronous 

 equatorial orbit so it appeared to stay fixed above one spot on Earth. 



Meanwhile, Telstar, which had been launched on July 10, 1962, 

 provided a dramatic illustration of its effectiveness, in a timely fashion 

 for the hearings. Hechler opened the October 4, 1962, hearing with 

 this comment: 



Yesterday there were millions of people in Europe who shared the thrill of the 

 successful flight of Walter M. Schirra, Jr., by means of viewing television relayed 

 by Telstar satellite. 



As the U.S. Information Agency testified: "Communications and 

 television are something which, unlike shooting for the Moon, can 

 touch each person's life personally." 



In 1962 and 1963, the following members were assigned to the 

 Hechler subcommittee: 



Subcommittee on Advanced Research and Technology 



1962 

 Democrats Republicans 



Ken Hechler, West Virginia, Chairman Jessica McC. Weis, New York 

 J. Edward Roush, Indiana Thomas M. Pelly, Washington 



John W. Davis, Georgia 

 Joe D. Waggonner, Jr., Louisiana 



1963 

 Democrats Republicans 



Ren Hechler, West Virginia, Chairman Thomas M. Pelly, Washington 



J. Edward Roush, Indiana Donald Rumsfeld, Illinois 



John W. Davis, Georgia John W. Wydler, New York 



William F. Ryan, New York 

 Richard H. Fulton, Tennessee 



When the Karth subcommittee picked up jurisdiction over com- 

 munications satellites at the end of 1963, additional emphasis was 

 placed on the value of the NASA research and development in this 

 area. Karth told his House colleagues in 1964: 



