List of communications satellite firsts
Milestones in the history of communications satellites.
| Satellite | First | Launched | Nation |
| Sputnik 1 | First satellite with radio transmitter | October 4, 1957 | |
| Project SCORE | First communications satellite First test of a space communications relay system First voice transmission | December 18, 1958 | |
| TIROS-1 | First satellite to transmit television images from space | April 1, 1960 | |
| Echo 1 | First passive reflector communications satellite | August 12, 1960 | |
| Courier 1B | First active repeater communications satellite First communications satellite powered by solar cells to recharge storage batteries | October 4, 1960 | |
| OSCAR 1 | First amateur radio satellite First satellite ejected into orbit as a secondary launch payload | December 12, 1961 | |
| Telstar 1 | First active, direct-relay communications satellite First satellite to relay television, telephone and high-speed data communications First transatlantic television | July 10, 1962 | |
| Relay 1 | First transpacific television First tandem satellite broadcast | December 13, 1962 | |
| Syncom 2 | First communications satellite in geosynchronous orbit | July 16, 1963 | |
| Syncom 3 | First communications satellite in geostationary orbit First Olympic broadcast to international audiences First tandem satellite broadcast | August 19, 1964 | |
| OSCAR-III | First amateur radio communications satellite ; first OSCAR powered by solar cells | March 9, 1965 | |
| Molniya | First Soviet communications satellite ; highly elliptical orbit | April 23, 1965 | |
| Intelsat I | First commercial communications satellite in geosynchronous orbit | April 6, 1965 | |
| Orbita | First national TV network based on satellite television | November 1967 | |
| Nimbus 3 | First satellite-based search and rescue system First satellite to locate and command remote weather stations to transmit data back to satellite | April 14, 1969 | |
| Anik 1 | First domestic communications satellite system using geosynchronous orbit | November 9, 1972 | |
| Westar 1 | First American domestic commercial geostationary communications satellite | April 13, 1974 | |
| ATS-6 | First geostationary communications satellite to be three-axis stabilized First experimental Direct Broadcast Satellite First satellite to provide communications relay services for other spacecraft | May 30, 1974 | |
| Symphonie | First geostationary communications satellite with unified propulsion system for station-keeping | December 19, 1974 | |
| AO-6 & AO-7 | First satellite-to-satellite communications relay | January 1975 | |
| Aryabhata | First Indian satellite | April 19, 1975 | |
| Palapa A1 | First Indonesian communications satellite | July 8, 1976 | |
| Ekran | First serial Direct-To-Home TV communication satellite First Soviet operational geosynchronous satellite | October 26, 1976 | |
| SBS-3 | First commercial use of the U.S. Space Shuttle | November 11, 1982 | |
| Tracking and data relay satellite-A | First satellite of first full-time communications relay network for other spacecraft | April 4, 1983 | |
| Arabsat-1A | First communications satellite for the Arab League | February 2, 1985 | |
| Morelos I | First communications satellite for Mexico | June 17, 1985 | |
| Badr-1 | First communications satellite of Pakistan | July 16, 1990 | |
| ACTS Gigabit Satellite Network | First communication satellite network to operate in the 20-30 GHz frequency band | September 12, 1993 | |
| Turksat 1B | First communications satellite for Turkey | August 10, 1994 | |
| Iridium 1 | First satellite for satellite telephone service | May 5, 1997 | |
| AO-40 | First satellite to use GPS for navigation and attitude determination in HEO | November 16, 2000 | |
| Artemis | First demonstration of inter-satellite laser communication | November 21, 2001 | |
| SuitSat | First use of a decommissioned spacesuit as a radio satellite | February 3, 2006 | |
| ARSAT-1 | First Argentine communications satellite in geosynchronous orbit | October 15, 2014 | |
| BRIsat | First satellite owned and operated by a bank | October 18, 2016 | |
| SGDC-1 | First Brazil communications satellite in geosynchronous orbit | May 4, 2017 | |
| Mazaalai | First Mongolia communication satellite | June 4, 2017 | |
| BulgariaSat-1 | First Bulgaria communication satellite in geosynchronous orbit | June 23, 2017 | |
| Alcomsat-1 | First Algeria communication satellite | December 10, 2017 | |
| Bangabandhu-1 | First communications satellite of Bangladesh | May 11, 2018 |