Author: Staff Writer

SSPI Timeline: 2007 - Debris

January 11, 2007 – China conducted an anti-satellite missile test. The target of the test – a Chinese weather satellite – was destroyed, leaving an estimated 40,000 fragments from 1...

SSPI Timeline: 1955 - Pierce

April 1955: Dr. John R. Pierce’s article, “”Orbital Radio Relays”” in Jet Propulsion, discussed both active and passive satellite “”repeaters”” and outlined the concept behind what would become the Echo...

SSPI Timeline: 1975 - Aryabhata

April 19, 1975: Launched by the Soviet Union from Kapustin Yar, Aryabhata was India’s first satellite, named after a ancient Indian mathematician (5th century AD). Aryabhata was built by the...

SSPI Timeline: 2000 - Orbit Act

March 17, 2000: US President Bill Clinton signed into law the Open-market Reorganization for the Betterment of International Telecommunications (ORBIT) Act, with the goal of helping to promote a more...

SSPI Timeline: 2007 - Sea Launch

January 30, 2007 – A Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket, carrying the NSS-8 satellite, exploded on the launch pad. The explosion occurred during main engine ignition. A Failure Review Board...

SSPI Timeline: 1957 - Sputnik

October 4, 1957: The Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, into low earth orbit, giving birth to the age of satellites and space applications Click here to...

SSPI Timeline: 1975 - Thrilla

Before 1975, cable TV was largely a rural industry that brought remote areas better reception and more channels. Then the October 1, 1975 Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier boxing match, carried live...

SSPI Timeline: 2000 - Thuraya 1

October 21, 2000: Thuraya 1, the United Arab Emirates’ first satellite, was inserted into GEO orbit by a Sea Launch Zenit-3SL rocket from a floating platform in the Pacific Ocean....

SSPI Timeline: 2007 - Orbital Express

March 11, 2007 – The Orbital Express mission of the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) completed history’s first satellite-to-satellite hardware transfer in orbit. The mission aimed to test...