Editing Communications satellite (section)

=== International commercial satellite projects ===
[[File:Stamp of Indonesia - 2016 - Colnect 929988 - Palapa D.jpeg|thumb|A stamp depicting the [[Palapa|Palapa D satellite]]; the Palapa D satellite is a commercial satellite from [[Indonesia]]. ]]
In the United States, 1962 saw the creation of the [[COMSAT|Communications Satellite Corporation]] (COMSAT) private corporation, which was subject to instruction by the US Government on matters of national policy.<ref name=HSA-1>{{cite book|last1=Pelton|first1=Joseph N.|chapter=History of Satellite Communications
|title= Handbook of Satellite Applications |editor=Pelton J. |editor2=Madry S. |editor3=Camacho-Lara S. |publisher=Springer |location=New York |date=2015|bibcode=2017hsa..book.....P}}</ref> Over the next two years, international negotiations led to the Intelsat Agreements, which in turn led to the launch of Intelsat 1, also known as Early Bird, on 6 April 1965, and which was the first commercial communications satellite to be placed in geosynchronous orbit.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1965-028A|title=Early Bird|publisher=NASA|access-date=5 January 2021}}</ref><ref name=NASAComp10>{{cite web|url= https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19760014165/downloads/19760014165.pdf |title= NASA Compendium Of Satellite Communications Programs  |date=December 1975|publisher=NASA|pages=10-1 to 10-64|access-date=5 January 2021}}</ref> Subsequent Intelsat launches in the 1960s provided multi-destination service and video, audio, and data service to ships at sea (Intelsat 2 in 1966–67), and the completion of a fully global network with Intelsat 3 in 1969–70. By the 1980s, with significant expansions in commercial satellite capacity, Intelsat was on its way to become part of the competitive private telecommunications industry, and had started to get competition from the likes of [[PanAmSat]] in the United States, which, ironically, was then bought by its archrival in 2005.<ref name=HSA-1/>

When Intelsat was launched, the United States was the only launch source outside of the [[Soviet Union]], who did not participate in the Intelsat agreements.<ref name=HSA-1/> The Soviet Union launched its first communications satellite on 23 April 1965 as part of the [[Molniya (satellite)|Molniya]] program.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1965-030A|title=Molniya 1-1|publisher=NASA|access-date=5 January 2021}}</ref> This program was also unique at the time for its use of what then became known as the [[Molniya orbit]], which describes a [[highly elliptical orbit]], with two high apogees daily over the northern hemisphere. This orbit provides a long dwell time over Russian territory as well as over Canada at higher latitudes than geostationary orbits over the equator.<ref>{{cite book|last=Altshuler|first=José |url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4217/ch18.htm|chapter=Chapter 18: From Shortwave and Scatter to Satellite: Cuba's International Communications|title= Beyond The Ionosphere: Fifty Years of Satellite Communication|editor-last=Butrica|editor-first=Andrew J|publisher=NASA History Office|date=1997|bibcode=1997bify.book.....B }}</ref>

In the 2020s, the popularity of [[low Earth orbit]] [[satellite internet constellation]]s providing relatively low-cost internet services led to reducing demand for new [[geostationary orbit]] communications satellites.<ref name=telegraph-20241204>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/12/04/airbus-axes-almost-500-jobs-in-britain-after-spacex-steals/ |title=Airbus axes almost 500 jobs in Britain after SpaceX steals a march |last=Jasper |first=Christopher |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |url-access=subscription |date=4 December 2024 |access-date=5 December 2024}}</ref>