Milestones in the history of communications satellites.
SatelliteFirstLaunchedPolity Sputnik 1 First satellite with radio transmitter October 4, 1957 Project SCORE First communications satelliteFirst test of a space communications relay systemFirst (recorded) voice transmission (U.S. 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 satelliteFirst communications satellite powered by solar cells to recharge storage batteries October 4, 1960 OSCAR 1 First amateur radio satelliteFirst satellite ejected into orbit as a secondary launch payload December 12, 1961 Telstar 1 First active, direct-relay communications satelliteFirst satellite to relay television, telephone and high-speed data communicationsFirst transatlantic television July 10, 1962 Relay 1 First transpacific television (news of the assassination and funeral procession of U.S. 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 orbitFirst Olympic broadcast to international audiencesFirst 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 Intelsat I First commercial communications satellite in geosynchronous orbit April 6, 1965 Orbita First national TV network based on satellite television November 1967 Nimbus 3 First satellite-based search and rescue systemFirst 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 ATS-6 First geostationary communications satellite to be three-axis stabilizedFirst experimental Direct Broadcast SatelliteFirst 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) Ekran First serial Direct-To-Home TV communication satellite October 26, 1976 SBS-3 First commercial use of the U.S. 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 ACTS Gigabit Satellite Network First communication satellite network to operate in the 20-30 GHz frequency band September 12, 1993 Iridium 1 First satellite for satellite telephone service May 5, 1997 AO-40 First satellite to use GPS for navigation and attitude determination in High Earth orbit November 16, 2000 Artemis First demonstration of inter-satellite laser communication November 21, 2001 (experiment) SuitSat First use of a decommissioned spacesuit as a radio satellite February 3, 2006 (deployed) BRIsat First satellite owned and operated by a bank October 18, 2016 (Launch)
See also Timeline of first artificial satellites by country First images of Earth from space
References