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 television and carried such services as HBO, Cinemax, The Movie Channel and Showtime. Its success created the concept of the “”cable neighborhood,”” a single location in the sky where cable systems could find all or most of the programming they needed, reducing the number of antennas needed on the ground

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Visit the SSPI Satellite Industry Timeline to tour the decades of the Satellite Era

The SSPI Satellite Timeline is the first interactive site on the Web to chronicle the rich and diverse history of the commercial satellite industry. Launched in October 2007 – the 50th anniversary of Sputnik – the Timeline is a learning tool for satellite professionals, students, the news media and the innovative companies that make up the industry