Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer

Launched in October 1982, the Satcom Domestic Communications Satellite "Aurora" was designed to provide commercial communications to the state of Alaska.

With its large, rugged land mass and dispersed population, Alaska had special challenges in providing reliable and widely-available communications to its citizens. As satellite technology developed during the 1960s and 1970s, this new mode of communication offered an effective means to meet the needs of the state.

Operating from geostationary orbit, the satellite was the first to be designed and operated for the special circumstances of an individual state. In honor of this distinction, the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce held a competition for school children to name the satellite. The winning submission, from third-grader Nick Francis in Eagle River, Alaska, was "Aurora."

This artifact is a 1:10 scale model of the satellite and was donated by the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce and Alascom, Inc., to the Museum in 1983.

 Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type MODELS-Uncrewed Spacecraft & Parts Manufacturer Central Art and Engineering
 Dimensions Model: 155.6 x 21.3 x 36.2cm (61 1/4 x 8 3/8 x 14 1/4 in.)
Storage (w/ stand): 55.9 x 47 x 34.3cm (22 x 18 1/2 x 13 1/2 in.)
 Materials Aluminum
Plastic
Copper Alloy
Paint
Adhesive
Polyurethane Foam
Wood
 Inventory Number A19830183000 Credit Line Gift of Alaska State Chamber of Commerce and Alascom, Inc. Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.