50 years ago today, the era of satellite television began with the first television image transmitted by a communication satellite. The transmission was orchestrated by MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory station in Camp Parks, California, with sponsorship from the Air Force. The message was received at Milestone hill in Westford, Massachusetts, 2,700 miles away. Ten years later, in November 1972,  the first commercial North American satellite to carry television, Canada’s geostationary Anik A1,  was launched.