The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republics of Central and Eastern Europe in May 1955, during the Cold War. The term "Warsaw Pact" commonly refers to both the treaty itself and its resultant defensive alliance, the Warsaw Treaty Organization (WTO). The Warsaw Pact was the military and economic complement to the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon), the regional economic organization for the Eastern Bloc states of Central and Eastern Europe.
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. Communications satellites are used for television, telephone, radio, internet, and military applications. Many communications satellites are in geostationary orbit 22,300 miles (35,900 km) above the equator, so that the satellite appears stationary at the same point in the sky; therefore the satellite dish antennas of ground stations can be aimed permanently at that spot and do not have to move to track the satellite. Others form satellite constellations in low Earth orbit, where antennas on the ground have to follow the position of the satellites and switch between satellites frequently.
Interkosmos was a Soviet space program, designed to help the Soviet Union's allies with crewed and uncrewed space missions.
AMSAT is a name for amateur radio satellite organizations worldwide, but in particular the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) with headquarters at Washington, D.C. AMSAT organizations design, build, arrange launches for, and then operate (command) satellites carrying amateur radio payloads, including the OSCAR series of satellites. Other informally affiliated national organizations exist, such as AMSAT Germany (AMSAT-DL) and AMSAT Japan (JAMSAT).
The European Telecommunications Satellite Organization is an intergovernmental organisation consisting of 49 member states. It is headquartered in Paris, France. The mission of EUTELSAT IGO is to maintain the rights to use radio frequencies and orbital locations which were assigned collectively to the Member States by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and to oversee the operations of Eutelsat S.A. so as to ensure that the company complies with the international EUTELSAT Convention. EUTELSAT IGO plays an active role within the global telecommunications community and is a key actor in the satellite business sector.
Radio Moscow, also known as Radio Moscow World Service, was the official international broadcasting station of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics until 1993, when it was reorganized into Voice of Russia, which was subsequently reorganized and renamed into Radio Sputnik in 2014. At its peak, Radio Moscow broadcast in over 70 languages using transmitters in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and Cuba.
The Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) is a United States Space Force narrowband military communications satellite system that supports a worldwide, multi-service population of users in the ultra high frequency (UHF) band. The system provides increased communications capabilities to newer, smaller terminals while still supporting interoperability with legacy terminals. MUOS is designed to support users who require greater mobility, higher bit rates and improved operational availability. The MUOS was declared fully operational for use in 2019.
The Reisebüro der DDR was the state travel organization of the German Democratic Republic. The Reisebüro had several travel-related functions, including:
- Arranging domestic travel for GDR citizens. The Reisebüro, among other things, controlled hotels located throughout the GDR.
- Arranging travel for GDR citizens in other socialist countries, i.e., the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Cuba.
- Arranging travel for foreigners visiting the GDR. These services included booking hotel rooms and providing confirmation documents used to justify the issuance of a GDR visa upon arrival in the GDR. The Reisebüro had agreements with travel agencies in other countries; travelers would book trips with a participating travel agency in their home country, which would then coordinate with the Reisebüro to reserve hotel rooms, etc.
Satcom, a portmanteau of satellite communications, was a brand of artificial geo-stationary communications satellites originally developed and operated by RCA American Communications that facilitated wide-area telecommunications by receiving radio signals from Earth, amplifying them, and relaying them back down to terrestrial receivers.
An amateur radio repeater is an electronic device that receives a weak or low-level amateur radio signal and retransmits it at a higher level or higher power, so that the signal can cover longer distances without degradation. Many repeaters are located on hilltops or on tall buildings as the higher location increases their coverage area, sometimes referred to as the radio horizon, or "footprint". Amateur radio repeaters are similar in concept to those used by public safety entities, businesses, government, military, and more. Amateur radio repeaters may even use commercially packaged repeater systems that have been adjusted to operate within amateur radio frequency bands, but more often amateur repeaters are assembled from receivers, transmitters, controllers, power supplies, antennas, and other components, from various sources.
Telecommunications engineering is a subfield of electronics engineering which seeks to design and devise systems of communication at a distance. The work ranges from basic circuit design to strategic mass developments. A telecommunication engineer is responsible for designing and overseeing the installation of telecommunications equipment and facilities, such as complex electronic switching systems, and other plain old telephone service facilities, optical fiber cabling, IP networks, and microwave transmission systems. Telecommunications engineering also overlaps with broadcast engineering.
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connected to an antenna which radiates the waves, and received by another antenna connected to a radio receiver. Radio is widely used in modern technology, in radio communication, radar, radio navigation, remote control, remote sensing, and other applications.
The Organization for Cooperation of Railways, was established as the equivalent of the International Union of Railways (UIC) to create and improve the coordination of international rail transport. Concerning especially the transports between Europe and Asia, it has helped develop cooperation between railway companies and with other international organisations. The members of this organisation created an international transport law.
JCSAT-110, also known as N-SAT 110, JCSAT-7, Superbird-5 and Superbird-D, is a Japanese geostationary communications satellite which was operated by JSAT Corporation and Space Communications Corporation until both companies merged into SKY Perfect JSAT Group in 2008. It is positioned in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 110° East, from where it is used to provide communications services to Japan.
An amateur radio satellite is an artificial satellite built and used by amateur radio operators. It forms part of the Amateur-satellite service. These satellites use amateur radio frequency allocations to facilitate communication between amateur radio stations.
Federal State Unitary Enterprise Satellite Communications or Russian Satellite Communications Company is the main state operator of communications satellites. It is the Russian operator for the international satellite communications systems Intelsat, Eutelsat and Intersputnik, cooperating with these organizations and handling international account settlements.
OSCAR 1 is the first amateur radio satellite launched by Project OSCAR into low Earth orbit. OSCAR I was launched December 12, 1961, by a Thor-DM21 Agena B launcher from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Lompoc, California. The satellite, a rectangular box weighing 10 kg., was launched as a secondary payload (ballast) for Corona 9029, also known as Discoverer 36, the eighth and final launch of a KH-3 satellite.
The International Investment Bank (IIB) is a sanctioned Russian government-controlled multilateral financial institution. Initially formed by the Soviet Union in 1970, it was revived by Russia's government in 2019 when it relocated its headquarters from Moscow to Budapest.
JCSAT-4B, known as JCSAT-13 before launch, is a geostationary communications satellite operated by SKY Perfect JSAT Group (JSAT) which was designed and manufactured by Lockheed Martin on the A2100 platform.
