The pictures were picked up at 23.45 GMT by the Pleumeur-Bodou space tracking station near Lannion in Brittany. The few pictures shown yesterday were very clear and stable. There was hardly any difference with pictures normally received on TV screens from French television stations.

The first pictures showed the American flag. The next series showed an interview in an American TV studio with the promoters of the space communications system.

The success of the trans-Atlantic television relay by means of the US “Telstar” communications satellite has paved the way for relaying the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games all over the world, Japanese telecommunications officials said yesterday.

The first televised pictures sent by the US telecommunications satellite were considered an outright success. The picture and sound, originally broadcast from Andover (Maine), were picked up immediately by the satellite and sent back to the USA where they were picked up clearly by the chief US television networks.

The pictures also showed the dome of the US telegraph and telephone experimental centre at Andover. The reception, both picture and sound, was perfect during the 17 minutes of transmission.

The White House, meanwhile, was already studying the possibility of carrying one of President Kennedy’s press conferences within two weeks, if Mr Kennedy’s schedule could be made to coincide with that of the satellite. Viewers in Britain saw only the head and shoulders of a man for about two minutes before the picture ‘showed’ out. — Agencies