Test inflation of an Echo satellite in a blimp hangar at Weeksville, North Carolina¹

• Echo 1A was launched on May 13, 1960¹
• Echo 1A was NASA's first communications satellite experiment
• Echo 1A was a passive communications satellite
• It succesfully redirected radio signals from continent to continent
• Echo 1A did not contain any communications equipment, which meant that large amounts of power were used to transmit
• Echo 1A was visible to the naked eye, probably the most seen man-made object in space
• Original proof of concept that radio waves can be transmitted from continent to continent via satellites

Echo 1A was a passive satellite, meaning that it did not have the capability to amplify and resend signals. It was more like a mirror in space, allowing scientists to bounce signals across the world. However, reflecting signals without any form of amplification is very inefficient and also impractical, as you would use a massive amount of energy to transmit a signal that can just barely be received at the other end.

Echo 1A was a success in that it achieved its purpose of reflecting radio waves. However, it fell out of favor when it was demonstrated that communications satellites that actively receive and amplify the signal could be used efficiently, as the Courier satellites demonstrated