In 1959 Robert Noyce of Fairchild Semiconductor and Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments each invented the integratedcircuit, etching a transistor onto a two- dimensional chip of silicon.
What he did not foresee was the development of the transistor and later the integratedcircuit, which mean satellites are far smaller than the objects he sketched out, which would have used valve technology and needed regular maintenance.