Syncom 2

Syncom 2¹

Syncom 2 was launched by NASA on July 26, 1963 with the Delta B #20 launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral. The satellite successfully kept station at the altitude calculated by Herman Potocnik Noordung in the 1920s. During the first year of Syncom 2 operations, NASA conducted voice, teletype, and facsimile tests, as well as 110 public demonstrations to show the capabilities of this satellite and invite feedback. Kingsport sailed to Lagos, Nigeria after Syncom 2 had been successfully launched on 26 July 1963. In August 1963, President John F. Kennedy in Washington, D.C., telephoned Nigerian Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa aboard USNS Kingsport docked in Lagos Harbor—the first live two-way call between heads of government by satellite. The Kingsport acted as a control station and uplink station.²

Notes:
1) Cover from the collection of Joseph Volutza
2) Source: Wikipedia