Bell Homestead Celebrates Milestone in Telephone History

On This Day in Space: NASA launched the 100-foot Echo 1A balloon on August 12, 1960; the passive satellite reflected telephone, radio and television signals across Earth

On August 12, 1960, NASA launched Echo 1A, a 100-foot balloon that became its first successful communications satellite. The passive spacecraft reflected telephone, radio and television signals between distant points on Earth. It also helped NASA study atmospheric density, solar pressure and satellite triangulation before re-entering Earth’s atmosphere in 1968.

Bell Homestead celebrates milestone in telephone history

Bell Homestead National Historic Site welcomed visitors to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first long-distance telephone call on Saturday, August 8, 2026.  Made on August 10, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell used existing telegraph lines to make the call from Brantford to Robert White’s Boot and Shoe Store in downtown Paris. Bell was on the receiving end of the call while his friends and family were set up at the Dominion Telegraph Office near…