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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Sputnik 1[2] | OKB-1 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 4 October 1957 | |
![]() | Explorer 1[3] | ABMA | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 1 February 1958 | |
![]() | Ariel 1[4] | RAE | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 26 April 1962 | |
![]() | Alouette 1[5] | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 29 September 1962 | ||
![]() | San Marco 1[6] | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 15 December 1964 | ||
![]() | Astérix[7] | CNES | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 26 November 1965 | |
![]() | WRESAT[8] | WRE | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 29 November 1967 | |
![]() | ESRO-2B[9] | ESRO | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 17 May 1968[10] | |
![]() | Azur[11] | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 8 November 1969 | ||
![]() | Osumi[12] | ISAS | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 11 February 1970 | |
![]() | Dongfanghong I[13] | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 24 April 1970 | ||
![]() | ANS[14] | ![]() | ![]() | 30 August 1974 | |||
![]() | Intasat[14] | INTA | ![]() | ![]() | 15 November 1974 | ||
![]() | Aryabhata[14] | ISRO | ![]() | ![]() | 19 April 1975 | ||
![]() | Palapa A1[14] | Perumtel | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 8 July 1976 | |
![]() | Magion 1[14] | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 24 October 1978 | ||
![]() | Bulgaria 1300[14] | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 7 August 1981 | ||
![]() | Arabsat-1A | Arabsat | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 8 February 1985 | |
![]() | Brasilsat A1[14] | Embratel | ![]() | ||||
![]() | Morelos 1[14] | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 17 June 1985 | Deployed using PAM-D during STS-51-G | |
![]() | Viking | SSC | ![]() ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 22 February 1986 | |
![]() | Ofek-1 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 19 September 1988 | ||
![]() | Astra 1A | SES Astra | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 11 December 1988 | |
![]() | Lusat | AMSAT Argentina | ![]() | ![]() | 22 January 1990 | ||
![]() | AsiaSat 1 | AsiaSat | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 7 April 1990 | Hong Kong, a British Overseas Territory, became part of the People's Republic of China in July 1997 |
![]() | Badr-1 | SUPARCO | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 16 July 1990 | |
![]() | Kosmos 2175 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 21 January 1992 | Successor state to the Soviet Union | |
![]() | Kitsat-1 | KAIST | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 10 August 1992 | |
![]() | PoSAT-1 | PoSAT | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 26 September 1993 | |
![]() | Thaicom-1 | Shin Satellite | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 18 December 1993 | |
![]() | Turksat 1B | Turksat | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 10 August 1994 | |
![]() | Magion 4 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 2 August 1995 | Formerly part of Czechoslovakia | |
![]() | Sich-1 | ![]() | ![]() | 31 August 1995 | Formerly part of the Soviet Union | ||
![]() | Fasat-Alfa | ![]() | Failed to separate | ||||
![]() | MEASAT-1 | MEASAT | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 13 January 1996 | |
![]() | Thor 2 | Telenor | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 20 May 1997 | |
![]() | Mabuhay 1 | Mabuhay | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 19 August 1997 | |
![]() | Nilesat 101 | Nilesat | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 28 April 1998 | |
![]() ![]() | ST-1 | SingTel Chunghwa | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 25 August 1998 | |
![]() | Formosat-1 | NSPO | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 27 January 1999 | |
![]() | SUNSAT | Stellenbosch | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 23 February 1999 | Launched on same rocket as first Danish satellite |
![]() | Ørsted | ![]() | Launched on same rocket as first South African satellite | ||||
![]() | Thuraya 1 | Thuraya | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 21 October 2000 | |
![]() | Maroc-Tubsat | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 10 December 2001 | ||
![]() | Esiafi 1 (former Comstar D4) | TONGASAT | ![]() | (![]() | (![]() | (21 February 1981) | Esiafi 1 (former private American Comstar D4) satellite was transferred in April 2002 to Tonga being at orbit |
![]() | AlSAT-1 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 28 November 2002 | ||
![]() | Hellas-Sat 2 | Hellas-Sat | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 13 May 2003 | |
![]() | NigeriaSat-1 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 27 September 2003 | ||
![]() | Sina-1 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 27 October 2005 | ||
![]() | KazSat-1 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 17 June 2006 | Formerly part of the Soviet Union | |
![]() | Libertad-1 | ![]() ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 17 April 2007 | ||
![]() | Rascom-QAF 1 | Rascom | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 21 December 2007 | |
![]() | Vinasat-1 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 18 April 2008 | ||
![]() | Venesat-1 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 29 October 2008 | ||
![]() | SwissCube-1 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 23 September 2009 | ||
![]() | X-Sat | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 20 April 2011 | ||
![]() | ViaSat-1 | ViaSat-IOM, ManSat, Telesat-IOM | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 19 October 2011 | Isle of Man is a Crown Dependency of the British sovereign |
![]() | MaSat-1[15] | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 13 February 2012 | ||
![]() | PW-Sat[15] | ||||||
![]() | Goliat[15] | ![]() ![]() | |||||
![]() | BelKA-2[16][17] | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 22 July 2012 | ||
![]() | Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2[18] | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 12 December 2012 | Failed to operate in orbit | |
![]() | Azerspace-1/Africasat-1a[19] | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 7 February 2013 | Formerly part of the Soviet Union | |
![]() | TUGSAT-1/UniBRITE[20] | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 25 February 2013 | Austria's first two satellites were launched together | |
![]() | Bermudasat 1 (former EchoStar VI) | Bermudasat | ![]() | (![]() | (![]() | (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 |
![]() | NEE-01 Pegaso[21] | EXA | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 26 April 2013 | |
![]() | ESTCube-1 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 7 May 2013 | Formerly part of the Soviet Union | |
![]() | O3b-1/O3b-2/O3b-3/O3b-4 | O3b Networks | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 25 June 2013 | Jersey's first four satellites were launched together. Jersey is a Crown Dependency of the British sovereign |
![]() | PUCP-Sat 1 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 21 November 2013 | ||
![]() | Túpac Katari 1 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 20 December 2013 | ||
![]() | LitSat-1/Lituanica SAT-1 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 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. | |
![]() | QB50P1/QB50P2 | Von Karman Institute | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 19 June 2014 | The first two Belgian satellites were launched together |
![]() | Tigrisat | MOST/La Sapienza | ![]() | ||||
![]() | ANTELSAT | UdelaR | ![]() | ||||
![]() | TurkmenAlem52E/MonacoSAT | TNSA | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | 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.