Staff Writer

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

May 13, 2003: The launch of Hellas-Sat 2 aboard a Lockheed Martin Atlas 5 rocket put Cyprus’s first satellite into GEO orbit. It was owned by the Hellas Sat Consortium, […]

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 […]

October 10, 2002: Citing anti-trust concerns, the US Federal Communications Commission rejected the proposed $25.8 billion merger with DirecTV proposed by Echostar CEO Charlie Ergen and approved by the board […]

October, 2001: Hughes Electronics accepted a bid from Echostar CEO Charlie Ergen to acquire its DirecTV unit in a $25.8 billion deal that would create a single US DTH operator […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 31, 1998: The 22nd meeting of the Intelsat Assembly of Parties unanimously approved the creation of a private, independent spin-off company, New Skies Satellites, to be based in The […]

August 19, 1997: The launch of Agila 2 added the Philippines to the list of satellite nations. Designed and built by Space Systems/Loral for the Mabuhay Philippines Satellite Corporation, Agila […]

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 […]

August 3, 1995: With the successful launch of PAS 4 aboard an Ariane 4 launcher, PanAmSat became the first private satellite company to achieve global coverage. The Hughes-built HS-601 satellite […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]