List of communications satellite firsts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Early milestones in the history of communications satellites.
| Satellite | First | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Herman Potocnik | describes a space station in geosynchronous orbit | 1928 |
| Arthur C. Clarke | proposes a station in geosynchronous orbit to relay communications and broadcast television | 1945 |
| Sputnik 1 | first satellite equipped by radio-transmitters | 1957 |
| Project SCORE | America's first communications satellite | 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 | July 1962 |
| Syncom | first communications satellite in geosynchronous orbit | 1963 |
| 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 | April 1965 |
| Orbita | first national TV network based on satellite television | November 1967 |
| Anik 1 | first national satellite television system, Canada, | 1973 |
| Westar 1 | USA's first geosynchronous communications satellite | April 1974 |
| Ekran | first serial Direct-To-Home TV communication satellite | 1976 |
| Palapa A1 | first Indonesia communications satellite | July 8 1976 |
| TDRSS | first satellite designed to provide communications relay services for other spacecraft. | 1983 |
| Mars Global Surveyor | first communications satellite to orbit another planet (Mars) | 1997 |
| Cassini spacecraft | relays to Earth images from the Huygens probe as it lands on Saturn's moon, Titan, the longest relay to date. | January 14, 2005 |
