1963 - Syncom launched, becoming first communications satellite in geosynchronous orbit.
1965 - Early Bird becomes first commercial communications satellite.
1966 - Surveyor 1 makes first fully controlled soft landing on moon.
1967 - ATS-3 transmits first color pictures of Earth taken from synchronous altitude.
1972 - Anik A, built for Canada, becomes first communications satellite to serve an individual nation.
1974 - Westar is launched as first U.S. domestic communications satellite.
1975 - Intelsat IVA is first satellite to reuse frequencies, thereby doubling capacity.
1976 - Marisat, first maritime communications satellite, links ships on Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans to shore.
1978 - Pioneer Venus heads for Venus to perform first extensive radar mapping.
1978 - First Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite is launched.
1980 - SBS is first spin-stabilized 376 design to be launched
1982 - SBS3, a spin-stabilized 376 design, becomes first commercial satellite to be placed into orbit by the space shuttle.
1992 - Optus B is first satellite with domestic mobile service. The 601 design employs a 3-axis design to be body-stabilized.
1993 - UHF F/O 2 is first satellite to carry a hosted payload.
1994 - DBS -1 delivers first digital direct-to-home television broadcasting to North America.
1995 - First crosslink payload is carried on Milstar satellite.
1995 - Galileo probe becomes first spacecraft to penetrate Jupiter's atmosphere.
1996 - MEASAT 1 is first commercial communications satellite to use gallium arsenide solar cells.
1997 - PAS-5 is first commercial communications satellite to use dual-junction gallium arsenide solar cells and a xenon ion propulsion system, XIPS.
1998 - First commercial lunar mission which used a gravity-assist swingby to salvage a communications satellite stranded in a useless orbit. The HGS-1 satellite was sent around the moon twice and repositioned in Earth orbit.
1998 - BONUM-1, first US-built spacecraft for Russia, is launched.
1999 - Galaxy XI, the first 702HP, is launched.
2000 - Thuraya-1, the first Boeing Geomoble satellite, is launched.
2001 - DIRECTV-4S, the first commercial communications satellite to use triple-junction gallium arsenide solar cells, is launched.
2005 - Spaceway F1 is first satellite to use an active phased array antenna, which included beamforming and amplification functionality -- enabling the spacecraft's 24 beams to be dynamically reconfigured to meet changing user data rate requirements.
2005 - Spaceway F1 is the first satellite to have on-board packet-switching, enabling Internet protocol applications for teleconferencing, multicasting, and broadcast functionality.
2006 - Spectrolab achieves a new world record in terrestrial concentrator solar cell efficiency with cells capable of converting 40.7 percent of the sun's energy into electricity.
2007 - WGS-1 becomes the Department of Defense's highest capacity communications satellite.
2008 - Boeing becomes first satellite system provider to reach 2,500 years of accumulated yearsof satellite service.
2008 - Boeing S&IS is awarded the "Satellite Industry Leadership Award" for "consistent and significant leadership in the advancement of the satellite and communications sector."
2009 - The first new commercial satellite bus in almost 10 years, the Boeing 702MP, is introduced as part of a four - satellite deal with Intelsat. The Boeing 702MP poduct line provides a highly competitive satellite that significantly expands Boeing's addressable commercial market.
2009 - Boeing selected to build the first UHF hosted commercial payload for Intelsat and the Australian Defence Force.
2010 - The Boeing-built X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, the United States' first unmanned vehicle to return from space and land on its own, completes a successful 220-day mission.
2010 - Inmarsat awards Boeing the Inmarsat-5 program, a contract for three 702HP satellites which will provide the first global VSAT network.
2010 - SBSS is the first space situational awareness satellite to feature a 3-axis, gimbaled sensor that greatly enhances the satellite's ability to monitor objects and events in space.
2010 - The Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) de México selects Boeing to provide an end-to-end turnkey satellite system that will significantly advance communications in Mexico. Disaster relief, emergency services, telemedicine, rural education, and government agency operations are among the services the MEXSAT system will provide.
2011 - Boeing completes first 702MP satellite, IS-22 for Intelsat, in a record 29 months after contract announcement. The satellite includes a UHF hosted payload.
2012 - Boeing's first 702MP satellite, IS-22 for Intelsat, is successfully launched on March 25, 2012