The channel was founded in 1972 by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and NASA as the Appalachian Community Service Network, and was an informative and instructional network focused on providing real education through the medium of television; it was distributed at no cost by NASA satellite.
Kanal 1972'de Department of Health, Education, and Welfare ve NASA tarafından Appalachian Community Service Network adıyla kuruldu, ve televizyon ortamı üzerinden gerçek eğitim sağlamaya odaklanan bilgilendirici ve eğitici bir kanaldı; NASA uydusu tarafından ücretsiz bir şekilde dağıtılıyordu.