We, as humanity, have a tendency for remembering firsts. When something is done for the first time, or when someone comes first in something, the event or person enjoys greater recall value. The same, however, doesn’t apply when the feat is repeated, even when it is just the second time.
Most of us will surely know who the first person to set foot on the moon was, but maybe not the second (Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin are the first and second, respectively, in case you wanted to know). Why, even when it comes to events at school, chances are that you will remember who came first in a given year – be it in academics or sports – much later, than who came second.
The same applies to the communications satellites Telstar 1 and Telstar 2. The Telstar mission was an international collaboration among AT&T, Bell Telephone Laboratories, NASA, the British General Post Office, and the French National Post, Telegram, and Telegraph Office. Mainly developed by Bell Labs for AT&T, the onboard equipment was powered by a solar array and had a battery back-up system.
