In a 1945 Wireless World article the English science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke (b. 1917) described in detail the possible use of communications satellites for mass communications. Clarke examined the logistics of satellite launch, possible orbits and other aspects of the creation of a network of world-circling satellites, pointing to the benefits of high-speed global communications. He also suggested that three geostationary satellites would provide coverage over the entire planet.
The first artificial satellite was Sputnik 1, launched by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957.
