Early milestones in the history of communications satellites.
| Satellite |
First |
Launched |
| Sputnik 1[1] |
First satellite equipped with radio transmitters |
October 4, 1957 |
| Project SCORE |
America's first communications satellite[1] |
1958 |
| Echo I |
First passive reflector satellite |
August 1960 |
| Courier 1B |
First active repeater satellite |
October 1960 |
| Telstar |
First satellite designed to transmit television and high-speed data communications; first transatlantic television[1] |
July 1962 |
| Relay 1 |
First transpacific television (news of JFK assassination and funeral procession) |
December 1962 |
| Syncom 2 |
First communications satellite in geosynchronous orbit |
July 1963 |
| Syncom 3 |
First communications satellite in geostationary orbit; first Olympic broadcast to international audiences |
August 1964 |
| OSCAR-III |
First amateur radio communications satellite |
March 1965 |
| Molniya |
First Soviet communication satellite, highly elliptic orbit |
October 1965 |
| Early Bird |
INTELSAT's first satellite for commercial service[1] |
April 1965 |
| Orbita |
First national TV network based on satellite television (Russian) |
November 1967 |
| Anik 1 |
First national satellite for Canada |
1973 |
| Westar 1 |
USA's first commercial geostationary communications satellite |
April 1974 |
| Symphonie |
First geostationary communications satellite to be three-axis stabilized |
19 December 1974 |
| Aryabhata |
First Indian satellite |
19 April 1975 |
| Ekran |
First serial Direct-To-Home TV communication satellite |
1976 |
| Palapa A1 |
First Indonesian communications satellite |
July 8 1976 |
| TDRSS |
First satellite designed to provide communications relay services for other spacecraft |
1983 |
| Arabsat-1A |
First communications satellite for the Arab League |
2 February 1985 |
| Turksat 1B |
First communications satellite for Turkey |
10 August 1994 |
References
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