Milestones in the history of communications satellites.
| Satellite | First | Launched | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sputnik 1 | First satellite with radio transmitter | October 4, 1957 | |
| Project SCORE | First communications satellite First test of a space communications relay system First (recorded) voice transmission (US President Dwight Eisenhower) |
December 18, 1958 | |
| TIROS-1 | First satellite to transmit television images from space (weather) | April 1, 1960 | |
| Echo 1 | First passive reflector communications satellite | August 12, 1960 | |
| Courier 1B | First active repeater communications satellite First communications satellite powered by solar cells to recharge storage batteries |
October 4, 1960 | |
| OSCAR 1 | First amateur radio satellite First satellite ejected into orbit as a secondary launch payload |
December 12, 1961 | |
| Telstar 1 | 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 and funeral procession of US President John F Kennedy) 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 broadcast to international audiences First tandem satellite broadcast (with Relay 1) |
August 19, 1964 | |
| OSCAR-III | First amateur radio communications satellite (relay/transponder); first OSCAR powered by solar cells | March 9, 1965 | |
| Molniya | First Soviet communications satellite (military); highly elliptical orbit | April 23, 1965 | |
| Intelsat I | First commercial communications satellite in geosynchronous orbit | April 6, 1965 | |
| Orbita | First national TV network based on satellite television (Soviet Union) | November 1967 | |
| Nimbus 3 | 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) | November 9, 1972 | |
| Westar 1 | First American domestic commercial geostationary communications satellite | April 13, 1974 | |
| ATS-6 | First geostationary communications satellite to be three-axis stabilized First experimental Direct Broadcast Satellite First satellite to provide communications relay services for other spacecraft (Nimbus 6) |
May 30, 1974 | |
| Symphonie | First geostationary communications satellite with unified propulsion system for station-keeping | December 19, 1974 | |
| AO-6 & AO-7 | First satellite-to-satellite communications relay (ground -> AO-7 -> AO-6 -> ground) | January 1975 (occurred) | |
| Aryabhata | First Indian communications satellite | April 19, 1975 | |
| Palapa A1 | First Indonesian communications satellite | July 8, 1976 | |
| Ekran | First serial Direct-To-Home TV communication satellite First Soviet operational geosynchronous satellite |
October 26, 1976 | |
| SBS-3 | First commercial use of the US Space Shuttle | November 11, 1982 | |
| TDRS-A | First satellite of first full-time communications relay network for other spacecraft | April 4, 1983 | |
| Arabsat-1A | First communications satellite for the Arab League | February 2, 1985 | |
| Badr-1 | First communications satellite of Pakistan | July 16, 1990 | |
| Turksat 1B | First communications satellite for Turkey | August 10, 1994 | |
| Iridium 1 | First satellite for satellite telephone service | May 5, 1997 | |
| AO-40 | First satellite to use GPS for navigation and attitude determination in HEO | November 16, 2000 | |
| SuitSat | First use of a decommissioned spacesuit as a radio satellite | February 3, 2006 (deployed) |
Famous quotes containing the words list of, list and/or satellite:
“Love’s boat has been shattered against the life of everyday. You and I are quits, and it’s useless to draw up a list of mutual hurts, sorrows, and pains.”
—Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893–1930)
“Modern tourist guides have helped raised tourist expectations. And they have provided the natives—from Kaiser Wilhelm down to the villagers of Chichacestenango—with a detailed and itemized list of what is expected of them and when. These are the up-to- date scripts for actors on the tourists’ stage.”
—Daniel J. Boorstin (b. 1914)
“Books are the best things, well used; abused, among the worst. What is the right use? What is the one end, which all means go to effect? They are for nothing but to inspire. I had better never see a book, than to be warped by its attraction clean out of my own orbit, and made a satellite instead of a system.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
Related Phrases
Related Words