List of communications satellite firsts
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Milestones in the history of communications satellites.
| Satellite | First | Launched | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sputnik 1 | First satellite with radio transmitter[1] | October 4, 1957 |  |
| Project SCORE | First communications satellite[1] 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[1] |
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[1] | 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)[2] | January 1975 (occurred) | |
| Aryabhata | First Indian 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 | |
| Tracking and data relay satellite-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[3] | 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[4][5] | November 16, 2000 | |
| SuitSat | First use of a decommissioned spacesuit as a radio satellite | February 3, 2006 (deployed) |  |
| ARSAT-1 | First Argentine communications satellite in geosynchronous orbit | October 15, 2014 (Launch) |  |
