Author: Staff Writer

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 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,...

August 20, 1964: The Interim Agreement to form the International Telecommunications Satellite Consortium (later designated as Intelsat) was signed by 15 signatories from 15 countries, with 11 of these entities...

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...

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...

July 29, 2008 – The longest-running merger proposal in history came to a close when XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio became one company named Sirius XM Satellite Radio....

April 6, 1965: Intelsat I (nicknamed Early Bird) became the first commercial communications satellite to be placed in geosynchronous orbit. Built by Hughes Aircraft for COMSAT and modeled on the...

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...

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 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...