Science-fiction writers from the 1920s to the end of the 1950s dreamt of communicating via satellites (actually for the purpose of space-travel rather than to aid man’s communication on Earth). A giant practical step forward occurred on 4th October 1957 when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik – the very first man-made Earth-orbiting device (i.e. ‘satellite’). Then on 10th July 1962, TELSTAR turned the sci-fi dreams into reality when this small (less than 1m diameter) satellite was successfully launched by the USA into Earth-orbit. This brought the very first full bandwidth live television pictures across the Atlantic and it simultaneously caught the imagination of audiences on both sides. It was also soon being also used for transatlantic telephone calls. This paper looks at the technologies and personalities that made satellite communications possible via the TELSTAR project from an historical perspective. What was driving these people forward? What was Project TELSTAR looking to achieve? Why wasn’t it sufficient for transatlantic communications to rely upon the sub-sea cable technology that had developed so immensely over the previous 100 years? What lessons were learned from the project and how have they been applied since to ensure a highly successful evolution to the complex systems that exist today and which form such a fundamental part of the fabric of society? These are some of the questions that will be addressed in tracing the technical evolution of satellite communication systems, illustrating throughout what a marvellous source of inspiration TELSTAR has been and will continue to be for future generations. In keeping with the theme of highlighting how the application of scientific theories & discoveries have led to technological developments which have changed the world, and exploration, since Livingstone’s day, the paper summarises the principles of global positioning satellites (GPS) and satellite (‘hand-held’ telephones and also touches on the role of satellites in emergency and disaster-management situations. If these technologies had been available in Livingstone’s day, his friend Henry Stanley could have stayed at home and waited for the call!!