List of communications satellite firsts

Milestones in the history of communications satellite

Communications satellite

A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purpose of telecommunications...

Satellite	First	Launched
Sputnik 1 Sputnik 1 Sputnik 1 ) was the first artificial satellite to be put into Earth's orbit. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957. The unanticipated announcement of Sputnik 1s success precipitated the Sputnik crisis in the United States and ignited the Space...	First satellite with radio transmitter	October 4, 1957
Project SCORE Project SCORE Project SCORE was the world’s first communications satellite. Launched aboard an Atlas rocket on December 18, 1958, SCORE provided a first test of a communications relay system in space, as well as the first successful use of the Atlas as a launch vehicle...	First communications satellite First test of a space communications relay system First (recorded) voice transmission (US President Dwight Eisenhower)	December 18, 1958
TIROS-1 TIROS-1 TIROS I was the first successful weather satellite, and the first of a series of Television Infrared Observation Satellites...	First satellite to transmit television images from space (weather)	April 1, 1960
Echo 1 Echo satellite Project Echo was the first passive communications satellite experiment. Each of the two American spacecraft was a metalized balloon satellite acting as a passive reflector of microwave signals. Communication signals were bounced off of them from one point on Earth to another.-Echo 1:NASA's Echo 1...	First passive reflector communications satellite	August 12, 1960
Courier 1B Courier 1B Courier 1B was the world's first active repeater satellite after launch on 4 October 1960. Courier was built by the Palo Alto, California–based Western Development Labs division of Philco, previously known as Army Fort Monmouth Laboratories and now the Space Systems/Loral division of Loral Space &...	First active repeater communications satellite First communications satellite powered by solar cells to recharge storage batteries	October 4, 1960
OSCAR 1 OSCAR OSCAR is an acronym for Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio. OSCAR series satellites use amateur radio frequencies to facilitate communication between amateur radio stations. These satellites can be used for free by licensed amateur radio operators for voice and data communications...	First amateur radio Amateur radio Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication... satellite First satellite ejected into orbit as a secondary launch payload	December 12, 1961
Telstar 1 Telstar Telstar is the name of various communications satellites, including the first such satellite to relay television signals.The first two Telstar satellites were experimental and nearly identical. Telstar 1 was launched on top of a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962...	First active, direct-relay communications satellite First satellite to relay television, telephone and high-speed data communications First transatlantic television	July 10, 1962
Relay 1	First transpacific television (news of the assassination Assassination of John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas... and funeral procession of US President John F Kennedy State funeral of John F. Kennedy The state funeral of John F. Kennedy took place in Washington, DC during the three days that followed his assassination on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas.... ) First tandem satellite broadcast (with Syncom 3)	December 13, 1962
Syncom 2	First communications satellite in geosynchronous orbit	July 16, 1963
Syncom 3	First communications satellite in geostationary orbit First Olympic 1964 Summer Olympics The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's... broadcast to international audiences First tandem satellite broadcast (with Relay 1)	August 19, 1964
OSCAR-III OSCAR OSCAR is an acronym for Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio. OSCAR series satellites use amateur radio frequencies to facilitate communication between amateur radio stations. These satellites can be used for free by licensed amateur radio operators for voice and data communications...	First amateur radio communications satellite (relay/transponder); first OSCAR powered by solar cells	March 9, 1965
Molniya Molniya (satellite) Molniya was a military communications satellite system used by the Soviet Union. The satellites were placed into highly eccentric elliptical orbits known as Molniya orbits, characterised by an inclination of +63.4 degrees and a period of around 12 hours...	First Soviet communications satellite (military); highly-elliptical orbit	April 23, 1965
Intelsat I Intelsat I Intelsat I was the first communications satellite to be placed in geosynchronous orbit, on April 6, 1965...	First commercial communications satellite in geosynchronous orbit	April 6, 1965
Orbita Orbita Orbita is a Soviet-Russian system of broadcasting and delivering TV signals via satellites. It is considered to be the first national network of satellite television....	First national TV network based on satellite television Satellite television Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an... (Soviet Union)	November 1967
Nimbus 3 Nimbus program The Nimbus satellites were second-generation U.S. robotic spacecraft used for meteorological research and development. The spacecraft were designed to serve as stabilized, Earth-oriented platforms for the testing of advanced systems to sense and collect atmospheric science data...	First satellite-based search and rescue system First satellite to locate and command remote weather stations to transmit data back to satellite	April 14, 1969
Anik 1	First domestic communications satellite system using geosynchronous orbit (Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... )	November 9, 1972
Westar 1 Westar 1 Westar 1 was America's first domestic and commercially launched geostationary communications satellite, launched by Western Union and NASA on April 13, 1974. It was built by Hughes for Western Union, using the HS-333 platform of spin-stabilized satellites. Westar 1 was the first of five Westar...	First American domestic commercial geostationary communications satellite	April 13, 1974
ATS-6 ATS-6 ATS-6 was a NASA experimental satellite, built by Fairchild Space and Electronics Division It has been called the world's first educational satellite as well as world's first experimental Direct Broadcast Satellite as part of the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment between NASA and ISRO...	First geostationary communications satellite to be three-axis stabilized First experimental Direct Broadcast Satellite Direct broadcast satellite Direct broadcast satellite is a term used to refer to satellite television broadcasts intended for home reception.A designation broader than DBS would be direct-to-home signals, or DTH. This has initially distinguished the transmissions directly intended for home viewers from cable television... First satellite to provide communications relay services for other spacecraft (Nimbus 6 Nimbus program The Nimbus satellites were second-generation U.S. robotic spacecraft used for meteorological research and development. The spacecraft were designed to serve as stabilized, Earth-oriented platforms for the testing of advanced systems to sense and collect atmospheric science data... )	May 30, 1974
Symphonie Symphonie The Symphonie satellites were the first communications satellites built by France and Germany to provide geostationary orbit injection and station-keeping during their operational lifetime...	First geostationary communications satellite with unified propulsion system for station-keeping	December 19, 1974
AO-6 & AO-7 AMSAT-OSCAR 7 AO-7 is the second Phase 2 amateur satellite launched into Low Earth Orbit on 15 November 1974. It remained operational until a battery failure in 1981...	First satellite-to-satellite communications relay (ground -> AO-7 -> AO-6 -> ground)	January 1975 (occurred)
Aryabhata Aryabhata (satellite) Aryabhatta was India's first satellite, named after the great Indian astronomer of the same name. It was launched by the Soviet Union on 19 April 1975 from Kapustin Yar using a Cosmos-3M launch vehicle. It was built by the Indian Space Research Organization to gain experience in building and...	First India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... n communications satellite	April 19, 1975
Palapa Palapa Palapa is a series of communication satellites owned by Indosat, an Indonesian telecommunication company.The name Palapa also alludes to "Sumpah Palapa" the oath taken by Gajah Mada, a 14th century Prime Minister of the Javanese Majapahit Empire described in the Pararaton... A1	First Indonesia Indonesia Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an... n communications satellite	July 8, 1976
Ekran Ekran Ekran was a Soviet-Russian type of geostationary satellite, developed for a national system of Direct-To-Home television.The first satellite of Ekran series was launched in 1976. Each satellite in the Ekran series was designed to provide one TV and 2 radio program channels to cable TV systems...	First serial Direct-To-Home TV communication satellite First Soviet operational geosynchronous satellite	October 26, 1976
SBS Satellite Business Systems Satellite Business Systems, abbreviated as SBS, was a company founded by IBM, Aetna, Comsat , that provided private professional satellite communications through its SBS fleet of FSS geosynchronous satellites, and was the first company to do so.SBS was founded on December 15, 1975 by the... -3	First commercial use of the US Space Shuttle	November 11, 1982
TDRS TDRS A Tracking and Data Relay Satellite is a type of communications satellite that forms part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System used by NASA and other United States government agencies for communications to and from independent "User Platforms" such as satellites, balloons, aircraft,... -A	First satellite of first full-time communications relay network Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System is a network of American communications satellites and ground stations used by NASA for space communications. The system was designed to replace an existing network of ground stations that had supported all of NASA's manned flight missions... for other spacecraft	April 4, 1983
Arabsat-1A	First communications satellite for the Arab League Arab League The Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia . It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a...	February 2, 1985
Badr-1	First communications satellite of Pakistan	July 16, 1990
Turksat 1B	First communications satellite for Turkey Turkey Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...	August 10, 1994
Iridium 1 Iridium satellite constellation The Iridium satellite constellation is a large group of satellites providing voice and data coverage to satellite phones, pagers and integrated transceivers over Earth's entire surface. Iridium Communications Inc...	First satellite for satellite telephone service	May 5, 1997
AO-40 AO-40 AO-40 is the on-orbit name designation of an amateur radio satellite of the OSCAR series; formerly known as Phase 3D.The Project Manager was Peter Guelzow of AMSAT Germany ....	First satellite to use GPS for navigation and attitude determination in HEO High Earth orbit A High Earth Orbit is a geocentric orbit whose apogee lies above that of a geosynchronous orbit .Highly Elliptical Orbits are a subset of High Earth Orbits.-Examples of satellites in High Earth Orbit:...	November 16, 2000
SuitSat SuitSat SuitSat is a retired Russian Orlan spacesuit with a radio transmitter mounted on its helmet. SuitSat-1 was deployed in an ephemeral orbit around the Earth on February 3, 2006...	First use of a decommissioned spacesuit as a radio satellite	February 3, 2006 (deployed)

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