Satellite Firsts
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
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
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 702, 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.