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 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 commercial satellite to use a phased array antenna -- 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 years of 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 - 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.
2009 - The first new commercial satellite bus in almost 10 years, the Boeing 702HP, is introduced as part of a four - satellite deal with Intelsat. The Boeing 702HP 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 - Inmarsat awards Boeing the Inmarsat-5 program, a contract for three 702HP satellites which will provide the first global VSAT network.