Telstar-1's Demise

Telstar-1, the first telecommunications satellite, met an untimely demise only 7-months into its service life. On July 9, 1962 the United States exploded a nuclear bomb in space, codenamed Starfish Prime. The explosion created several man-made radiation belts which were within the orbit of Telstar-1 and a handful of other satellites. The increased radiation destroyed the satellite's electronics, causing it to fail. The test also caused electromagnetic damage in Hawaii due to the blast being much more powerful than expected.