Posted by Toby Inkster on 01/25/07 12:34

Toby Inkster wrote:

> You can't compare it with 19th century telecommunications because there
> were no 19th century attempts to use telecommunications technologies in
> space.

To clarify my stance, most people would consider, say, London (UK) to
Auckland (NZ) as long distance telecommunications.

However, the distance from the Earth to the Moon is *thirty* *times*
*further* -- just think about that distance -- and with no wires or
relay stations along the way. And in between the two communicating
parties, you may have to deal with not one, but two celestial bodies
blocking the direct "line of sight". (Though I assume the Apollo
missions were carefully timed to minimize the problems this might
cause.)

Manned space flight had only begun eight years earlier, with Yuri
Gagarin's flight, and he'd only ascended just over 300km. That's less
than the distance between London and Belfast, and half the distance
between London and Aberdeen. So early space flights like this
provided little help in planning Earth-Moon communications.

Frankly I think it's a miracle that Houston managed to hear anything
at all, so the loss of just a single monosyllabic word cannot be
faulted.

Comparing pre-1950s terrestrial communication with Earth-Moon
communications is like comparing that Ikea flat-packed chair you
assembled to the construction of the Eiffel Tower.

--
Toby A Inkster BSc (Hons) ARCS
Contact Me ~ http://tobyinkster.co.uk/contact

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