Timeline of first satellites by country
As of December 2013, sixty-one countries have operated artificial satellites; the first being the Soviet Union in 1957 with Sputnik 1.
Denotes international organisations | |
Denotes countries formerly part of another country which already had a spacecraft in orbit | |
Denotes countries with disputed sovereignty or recognition and autonomous dependent territories | |
Country | Satellite | Operator | Manufacturer | Carrier rocket[1] | Launch site[1] | Date (UTC)[1] | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Soviet Union | Sputnik 1[2] | OKB-1 | OKB-1 | Sputnik 8K71PS | Baikonur | 4 October 1957 | |
United States | Explorer 1[3] | ABMA | ABMA | Juno I | Cape Canaveral | 1 February 1958 | |
United Kingdom | Ariel 1[4] | RAE | NASA | Thor DM-19 Delta | Cape Canaveral | 26 April 1962 | |
Canada | Alouette 1[5] | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Vandenberg | 29 September 1962 | |||
Italy | San Marco 1[6] | CRA[6] | Scout X-4 | Wallops Island | 15 December 1964 | ||
France | Astérix[7] | CNES | CNES | Diamant A | Hammaguir | 26 November 1965 | |
Australia | WRESAT[8] | WRE | WRE | Sparta | Woomera | 29 November 1967 | |
Europe | ESRO-2B[9] | ESRO | Hawker Siddeley[9] | Scout B | Vandenberg | 17 May 1968[10] | |
West Germany | Azur[11] | Scout B | Vandenberg | 8 November 1969 | |||
Japan | Osumi[12] | ISAS | Lambda-4S | Kagoshima | 11 February 1970 | ||
People's Republic of China | Dongfanghong I[13] | Chang Zheng 1 | Jiuquan | 24 April 1970 | |||
Netherlands | ANS[14] | Scout D-1 | Vandenberg | 30 August 1974 | |||
Spain | Intasat[14] | INTA | Delta 2310 | Vandenberg | 15 November 1974 | ||
India | Aryabhata[14] | ISRO | Kosmos-3M | Kapustin Yar | 19 April 1975 | ||
Indonesia | Palapa A1[14] | Perumtel | Hughes | Delta 2914 | Cape Canaveral | 8 July 1976 | |
Czechoslovakia | Magion 1[14] | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk | 24 October 1978 | |||
Bulgaria | Bulgaria 1300[14] | Vostok-2M | Plesetsk | 7 August 1981 | |||
Saudi Arabia | Arabsat-1A | Arabsat | Aérospatiale | Ariane 3 | Kourou | 8 February 1985 | |
Brazil | Brasilsat A1[14] | Embratel | Hughes | ||||
Mexico | Morelos 1[14] | Hughes | Space Shuttle Discovery | Kennedy | 17 June 1985 | Deployed using PAM-D during STS-51-G | |
Sweden | Viking | SSC | Boeing/ Saab | Ariane 1 | Kourou | 22 February 1986 | |
Israel | Ofek-1 | IAI | Shavit | Palmachim | 19 September 1988 | ||
Luxembourg | Astra 1A | SES Astra | GE Astrospace | Ariane 44LP | Kourou | 11 December 1988 | |
Argentina | Lusat | AMSAT Argentina | Ariane 40 | Kourou | 22 January 1990 | ||
Hong Kong | AsiaSat 1 | AsiaSat | Hughes | Chang Zheng 3 | Xichang | 7 April 1990 | Hong Kong, a British Overseas Territory, became part of the People's Republic of China in July 1997 |
Pakistan | Badr-1 | SUPARCO | SUPARCO | Chang Zheng 2E | Xichang | 16 July 1990 | |
Russia | Kosmos 2175 | Soyuz-U | Plesetsk | 21 January 1992 | Successor state to the Soviet Union | ||
South Korea | Kitsat-1 | KAIST | SSTL | Ariane 42P | Kourou | 10 August 1992 | |
Portugal | PoSAT-1 | PoSAT | SSTL | Ariane 40 | Kourou | 26 September 1993 | |
Thailand | Thaicom-1 | Shin Satellite | Hughes | Ariane 44L | Kourou | 18 December 1993 | |
Turkey | Turksat 1B | Turksat | Aérospatiale | Ariane 44LP | Kourou | 10 August 1994 | |
Czech Republic | Magion 4 | Molniya-M | Plesetsk | 2 August 1995 | Formerly part of Czechoslovakia | ||
Ukraine | Sich-1 | Tsyklon-3 | Plesetsk | 31 August 1995 | Formerly part of the Soviet Union | ||
Chile | Fasat-Alfa | SSTL | Failed to separate | ||||
Malaysia | MEASAT-1 | MEASAT | Hughes | Ariane 44L | Kourou | 13 January 1996 | |
Norway | Thor 2 | Telenor | Hughes | Delta II 7925 | Cape Canaveral | 20 May 1997 | |
Philippines | Mabuhay 1 | Mabuhay | SS/Loral | Chang Zheng 3B | Xichang | 19 August 1997 | |
Egypt | Nilesat 101 | Nilesat | Astrium | Ariane 44P | Kourou | 28 April 1998 | |
Singapore Republic of China | ST-1 | SingTel Chunghwa | Astrium | Ariane 44P | Kourou | 25 August 1998 | |
Republic of China | Formosat-1 | NSPO | TRW | Athena I | Cape Canaveral | 27 January 1999 | |
South Africa | SUNSAT | Stellenbosch | Stellenbosch | Delta II 7920 | Vandenberg | 23 February 1999 | Launched on same rocket as first Danish satellite |
Denmark | Ørsted | CRI | Launched on same rocket as first South African satellite | ||||
United Arab Emirates | Thuraya 1 | Thuraya | Boeing | Zenit-3SL | Odyssey | 21 October 2000 | |
Morocco | Maroc-Tubsat | TU Berlin | Zenit-2 | Baikonur | 10 December 2001 | ||
Tonga | Esiafi 1 (former Comstar D4) | TONGASAT | SS/Loral | ( Atlas SLV-3D Centaur-D1AR) | ( Cape Canaveral) | (21 February 1981) | Esiafi 1 (former private American Comstar D4) satellite was transferred in April 2002 to Tonga being at orbit |
Algeria | AlSAT-1 | SSTL | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk | 28 November 2002 | ||
Greece | Hellas-Sat 2 | Hellas-Sat | Astrium | Atlas V 401 | Cape Canaveral | 13 May 2003 | |
Nigeria | NigeriaSat-1 | SSTL | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk | 27 September 2003 | ||
Iran | Sina-1 | NPO Polyot | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk | 27 October 2005 | ||
Kazakhstan | KazSat-1 | Khrunichev | Proton-M/DM3 | Baikonur | 17 June 2006 | Formerly part of the Soviet Union | |
Colombia | Libertad-1 | Dnepr-1 | Baikonur | 17 April 2007 | |||
Mauritius | Rascom-QAF 1 | Rascom | Alcatel | Ariane 5GS | Kourou | 21 December 2007 | |
Vietnam | Vinasat-1 | Lockheed Martin | Ariane 5ECA | Kourou | 18 April 2008 | ||
Venezuela | Venesat-1 | CAST | Chang Zheng 3B/E | Xichang | 29 October 2008 | ||
Switzerland | SwissCube-1 | PSLV-CA | Satish Dhawan | 23 September 2009 | |||
Singapore | X-Sat | SATREC | PSLV-C | Satish Dhawan | 20 April 2011 | ||
Isle of Man | ViaSat-1 | ViaSat-IOM, ManSat, Telesat-IOM | SS/Loral | Proton-M/Briz-M | Baikonur | 19 October 2011 | Isle of Man is a Crown Dependency of the British sovereign |
Hungary | MaSat-1[15] | Vega | Kourou | 13 February 2012 | |||
Poland | PW-Sat[15] | ||||||
Romania | Goliat[15] | ||||||
Belarus | BelKA-2[16][17] | Soyuz-FG/Fregat | Baikonur | 22 July 2012 | |||
North Korea | Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2[18] | Unha-3 | Sohae | 12 December 2012 | Failed to operate in orbit | ||
Azerbaijan | Azerspace-1/Africasat-1a[19] | Orbital Sciences | Ariane 5ECA | Kourou | 7 February 2013 | Formerly part of the Soviet Union | |
Austria | TUGSAT-1/UniBRITE[20] | UTAIS | PSLV-CA | Satish Dhawan | 25 February 2013 | Austria's first two satellites were launched together | |
Bermuda | Bermudasat 1 (former EchoStar VI) | Bermudasat | SS/Loral | ( Atlas IIAS) | ( Cape Canaveral) | (14 July 2000) | Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory; Bermudasat 1 (former private American EchoStar VI) satellite was transferred in April 2013 to Bermuda being at orbit |
Ecuador | NEE-01 Pegaso[21] | EXA | EXA | Chang Zheng 2D | Jiuquan | 26 April 2013 | |
Estonia | ESTCube-1 | Vega | Kourou | 7 May 2013 | Formerly part of the Soviet Union | ||
Jersey | O3b-1/O3b-2/O3b-3/O3b-4 | O3b Networks | Thales Alenia Space | Soyuz-STB/Fregat-MT | Kourou | 25 June 2013 | Jersey's first four satellites were launched together. Jersey is a Crown Dependency of the British sovereign |
Peru | PUCP-Sat 1 | Dnepr | Dombarovsky | 21 November 2013 | |||
Bolivia | Túpac Katari 1 | CAST | Chang Zheng 3B/E | Xichang | 20 December 2013 | ||
Lithuania | LitSat-1/Lituanica SAT-1 | Antares 120 | MARS LP-0A | 9 January 2014 | The first two Lithuanian satellites were launched together; both carried to the International Space Station and deployed later in the year. Lithuania was formerly part of the Soviet Union. | ||
Belgium | QB50P1/QB50P2 | Von Karman Institute | Dnepr | Dombarovsky | 19 June 2014 | The first two Belgian satellites were launched together | |
Iraq | Tigrisat | MOST/La Sapienza | |||||
Uruguay | ANTELSAT | UdelaR | |||||
Turkmenistan | TurkmenAlem52E/MonacoSAT | TNSA | Alcatel | Falcon 9 | Cape Canaveral | 27 April 2015 | Formerly part of the Soviet Union. |
See also
- Satellite#First satellites of countries
- Timeline of first orbital launches by country
- Timeline of spaceflight
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
- ↑ Zak, Anatoly. "Sputnik's Mission". RussianSpaceWeb. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
- ↑ "Explorer 1". Milestones of Flight. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
- ↑ "Timeline: 1960s". Space Research: 50 Years and Beyond. University of Leicester. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
- ↑ "Alouette I and II". Canadian Space Agency. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Russo, Arturo (2002). The Century of Space Science 1. Springer. p. 52. ISBN 0-7923-7196-8.
- ↑ Kramer, Herbert J. (2002). Observation of the Earth and Its Environment: Survey of Missions and Sensors. Springer. p. 160. ISBN 3-5404-2388-5.
- ↑ Williamson, Mark. Spacecraft Technology: The Early Years. Institution of Engineering and Technology. p. 85. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "ESA Achievements" (PDF). European Space Agency. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
- ↑ "ELDO/ESRO/ESA: Key Dates 1960-2013". European Space Agency. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
- ↑ "When did the first German satellite go into space?". DLR. 23 November 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
- ↑ "Ohsumi". Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
- ↑ Long, Wei (25 April 2000). "China Celebrates 30th Anniversary Of First Satellite Launch". Space Daily. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 14.7 "First Time in History". The Satellite Encyclopedia. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 "Central and Eastern Europe Make History with Small Satellites". European Space Agency. 13 February 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
- ↑ Krebs, Gunter. "BKA (BelKa 2)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
- ↑ "Belarus' first satellite enters orbit". Xinhua. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
- ↑ Fisher, Max (12 December 2012). "Real-time satellite tracker shows precise location of North Korea’s new satellite". Washington Post. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
- ↑ Agayev, Zulfugar (8 February 2013). "First Azeri Satellite Launched, Two More Planned in 2015-2016". Bloomberg. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
- ↑ "AUSTRIAN SATELLITES: BRITE-AUSTRIA & UniBRITE". BRITE-Constellation. Universität Wien. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
- ↑ Barbosa, Rui C. (26 April 2013). "China back in action with Long March 2D launch of Gaofen-1". NASASpaceflight.com. Retrieved 1 May 2013.