A new three-part documentary series entitled, “The Collins Story: Connecting The Moon To Earth,” features Richardson’s Telecom Corridor® and its early tech pioneers that enabled the development of Collins Radio Company space communication systems.
The Collins Radio campus in Richardson played an important role in the history of space exploration. Of note in Episode 1, it was in Richardson that one of NASA’s earliest missions known as Echo I accomplished the first ever 2-way voice transmission and the first image ever transmitted from space to Earth in August 1960.
Collins’ successful work with the space program brought more telecommunications-related companies to Richardson, creating one of the largest technology centers in the United States known as the Telecom Corridor®.
“Episode 1: Steps to the Moon,” which premiered last week, explores the early research and development projects at Collins Radio that led to the subsequent highly successful communication systems on the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions. The episode’s premiere coincided with the 60th anniversary of the Mercury flight (Freedom 7), which launched the first American astronaut (Alan Shepard) into space.
DVDs of the series will soon be available for check-out at the Richardson Public Library; episodes may also be viewed via online streaming here ($5 for 24 hours).
