In 1980, India placed Rohini in orbit and Sinclair put a computer within reach of a determined household.
India's SLV-3 successfully placed the Rohini RS-1 satellite into orbit on July 18. Voyager 1 reached Saturn, while Sinclair introduced the compact ZX80 home computer for £99 assembled.
In 1980, India used its own launch vehicle to place the Rohini RS-1 satellite into orbit. A machine built on Earth had become a small moving point above it, carrying sensors and sending measurements home.
Farther away, Voyager 1 reached Saturn and returned views of rings and moons that had previously been little more than distant light. Closer to home, Sinclair released the ZX80, a tiny computer that could connect to an ordinary television and be programmed in BASIC.
These machines were separated by millions of kilometres and enormous differences in cost. They still shared an idea. Computing was becoming a way to extend human reach, outward into the solar system and inward into the home.
The machine was no longer only something a government or corporation might own. It was beginning to become something a curious person could touch.