This week in Church history
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The Church entered the satellite age with a ceremony on Aug. 6, 1981, according to the Aug. 8 Church News.
The article reported: "The first satellite sending and receiving station in the Mountain West was put into service Aug. 6 after a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by President Spencer W. Kimball in Salt Lake City.
"The facility, the most modern of its kind, gives Church headquarters access to a center of space-age communication.
"After the ribbon-cutting, the inaugural broadcast featured a two-way video tele-conference."
The "earth station" was located in City Creek Canyon 3 1/2 miles from downtown Salt Lake City and included a 10-meter dish. It was capable of transmitting or receiving from satellites in orbit above the United States. Bonneville Satellite Corp., a subsidiary of Bonneville International, owned the facility.
According to the article: "(Federal Communications Commission) regulations require that the station serve all clients on a first-come, first-served basis, but the Church is expected to be a major client."
The article stated: "President Gordon B. Hinckley of the First Presidency praised the facility as one that could be of great service."
