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September 27, 2003: Nigeria became the latest nation with its own satellite when Nigeriasat1, a smallsat developed in cooperation with the UK’s Surrey Space Centre, was placed in low Earth […]

February 19, 1976: COMSAT launched Marisat, the first Mobile Communications satellite. Marisat allowed constant ship-to-shore communications for the maritime industry. Prior to Marisat, companies would go as long as 48 […]

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 […]

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 […]

June 28, 1983: Hughes Communications launched Galaxy 1 aboard a Delta rocket. Carrying 24 primary and 6 back-up C-band transponders, Galaxy 1 was the first satellite devoted exclusively to cable […]

October 27-November 21, 1977: The World Administrative Radio Conference (WARC 77) finalized frequency allocations for Direct Broadcasting Satellites (DBS) Click here to view this event in the SSPI Satellite Industry […]

November 11, 1982: NASA’s Space Shuttle flew its first mission to deliver communications satellites into low Earth orbit. Mission STS-5 deployed two communications satellites, both Hughes-built HS-376 spacecraft: SBS-3 owned […]

June, 1994: Hughes Electronics and United States Satellite Broadcasting introduced DirecTV, the first US all-digital direct-to-home TV service. It was carried on the high-powered DBS-1 satellite, launched in 1993 with […]

January 13, 1996: The launch of Measat 1, built by Boeing and launched on an Ariane 4 rocket, put Malaysia’s first satellite into orbit. The Boeing 376 spacecraft weighed 1.6 […]

April 7, 1990: The launch of AsiaSat 1 marked the first time in history a satellite was returned to orbit. Built by Hughes for Western Union and originally named Westar […]

June 15, 1988: PanAmSat successfully launched PAS 1 into orbit, completing one of the most amazing business exploits in satellite history. Founded by Rene Anselmo, PanAmSat applied for FCC permission […]

November 8 – November 16, 1984: Westar 6 and Palapa B2 became the first satellites to be retrieved from space and repaired by the Space Shuttle Discovery’s mission STS 51-A. […]

April 9, 2003: Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, General Motors and Hughes Electronics reached agreement on a deal through which News Corp. would acquire a 34% stake in Hughes (20% owned […]

June 18, 2006: Kazakhstan became the 44th satellite nation when a Russian Proton-K-DM3 launcher put Kazsat 1 into GEO orbit. The 1.5-ton (1380kg) satellite, built by GKNPT Krunichev, carried 12 […]

September 28, 2008 – The Falcon 1 rocket’s fourth launch was the first success for Space Exploration Technology Corp. (SpaceX), and marked the entrance of the first privately funded, liquid-fuelled […]

February 10, 2009 – An Iridium satellite and a Russian Cosmos satellite collided in the first-ever satellite crash. According to the U.S. Strategic Command’s Space Surveillance Network, the collision left […]

December 1, 2008 – China launched a new remote sensing satellite aboard a Chinese CZ-2D Chang Zheng 2D launch vehicle. The satellite was developed by the China Academy of Space […]

February 23, 1999: The launch of the Stellenbosch University Satellite (SUNSAT) added South Africa to the list of satellite nations. This micro-satellite, designed and built by electrical engineering students at […]

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 […]

March 28, 2001: SES Global announced the acquisition of GE Americom from General Electric for US$5 billion in cash and stock, granting General Electric a 25% stake in SES Global […]

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. […]

July 18, 2001: Intelsat completed its privatization by establishing a holding company, Intelsat Ltd., based in Bermuda, and formally ending its 37-year history as an international treaty organization Click here […]

October 29, 1999: In Penang, Malaysia, the INTELSAT Assembly of Parties, including representatives of all 143 member governments, voted unanimously to privatize the treaty organization that created the world’s first […]

August 29, 2005: Intelsat and PanAmSat announced that the two companies would merge in a $6.4 billion deal that would create the world’s largest satellite carrier with 51 spacecraft in […]

August 20, 2004: An investment group including Kohlberg, Kravis Roberts, the Carlyle Group and Providence Equity Partners purchased PanAmSat from the News Corporation’s DirecTV Group for $2.6 billion in cash. […]

May 17, 2004: Boeing introduced Connexion by Boeing, providing in-flight connectivity for broadband Internet via satellite. Lufthansa was the first airline to contract for the service, for which Boeing installed […]

November 17, 2006: Arqiva, a British provider of satellite and terrestrial communications services, announced that it would acquire the Satellite Broadcast Services business of BT for 25 million pounds in […]

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 […]

December 18, 2006: Loral Space and Communications announced an agreement with a Canadian partner, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) to acquire 100% of Telesat Canada from Bell […]

April 18, 2008 – Vietnam’s first telecommunications satellite, Vinasat-1, was successful placed into orbit by an Ariane rocket. The satellite, which will be operated by Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group, […]