List of first satellites by country
As of 2 February 2024, over eighty countries have operated artificial satellites.
| Denotes international organisations | |
| Denotes countries formerly part of another country which already had a spacecraft in orbit | |
| Denotes countries with disputed sovereignty or recognition and autonomous dependent territories | |
| Country | Satellite | Operator | Manufacturer | Carrier rocket | Launch site | Date (UTC) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soviet Union | Sputnik 1 | OKB-1 | OKB-1 | Sputnik 8K71PS | Baikonur | 4 October 1957 | First satellite launched |
| United States | Explorer 1 | ABMA | JPL | Juno I RS-29 | Cape Canaveral | 1 February 1958 | |
| United Kingdom | Ariel 1 | RAE | NASA / SERC | Thor DM-19 Delta | Cape Canaveral | 26 April 1962 | |
| Canada | Alouette 1 | DRDC | DRDC | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Vandenberg | 29 September 1962 | |
| Italy | San Marco 1 | CNR | CRA | Scout X-4 | Wallops | 15 December 1964 | |
| France | Astérix | CNES | CNES | Diamant A | Hammaguir | 26 November 1965 | |
| Australia | WRESAT | WRE | WRE | Sparta | Woomera | 29 November 1967 | |
10 European countries
|
ESRO 2B | ESRO | Hawker Siddeley | Scout B | Vandenberg | 17 May 1968 | |
| West Germany | Azur | DLR | DLR / NASA | Scout B | Vandenberg | 8 November 1969 | |
| Japan | Ohsumi | ISAS | ISAS | Lambda-4S | Kagoshima | 11 February 1970 | |
| People's Republic of China | Dongfanghong I | CAST | CAST | Chang Zheng 1 | Jiuquan | 24 April 1970 | |
| Netherlands | ANS | SRON / NASA | Philips | Scout D-1 | Vandenberg | 30 August 1974 | |
| Spain | Intasat | INTA | Standard Electrica | Delta 2310 | Vandenberg | 15 November 1974 | |
| India | Aryabhata | ISRO | ISRO | Kosmos-3M | Kapustin Yar | 19 April 1975 | |
| Indonesia | Palapa A1 | Perumtel | Hughes | Delta 2914 | Cape Canaveral | 8 July 1976 | |
| Czechoslovakia | Magion 1 | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk | 24 October 1978 | |||
| Bulgaria | Bulgaria 1300 | BSA | Bulgarian Academy of Sciences | Vostok-2M | Plesetsk | 7 August 1981 | |
| Saudi Arabia | Arabsat-1A | Arabsat | Aérospatiale | Ariane 3 | Kourou | 8 February 1985 | |
| Brazil | Brasilsat A1 | Embratel | Hughes | ||||
| Mexico | Morelos 1 | SCT | Hughes | Space Shuttle Discovery | Kennedy | 17 June 1985 | Deployed using PAM-D during STS-51-G |
| Sweden | Viking | SSC | Boeing/ Saab | Ariane 1 | Kourou | 22 February 1986 | |
| Israel | Ofek-1 | IAI | Shavit | Palmachim | 19 September 1988 | ||
| Luxembourg | Astra 1A | SES Astra | GE Astrospace | Ariane 44LP | Kourou | 11 December 1988 | |
| Argentina | Lusat | AMSAT Argentina | Ariane 40 | Kourou | 22 January 1990 | ||
| Hong Kong | AsiaSat 1 | AsiaSat | Hughes | Chang Zheng 3 | Xichang | 7 April 1990 | Hong Kong, a British Overseas Territory, became part of the People's Republic of China in July 1997 |
| Pakistan | Badr-1 | SUPARCO | SUPARCO | Chang Zheng 2E | Xichang | 16 July 1990 | |
| Russia | Kosmos 2175 | Soyuz-U | Plesetsk | 21 January 1992 | Successor state to the Soviet Union | ||
| South Korea | Kitsat-1 | KAIST | SSTL | Ariane 42P | Kourou | 10 August 1992 | |
| Portugal | PoSAT-1 | PoSAT | SSTL | Ariane 40 | Kourou | 26 September 1993 | |
| Thailand | Thaicom-1 | Shin Satellite | Hughes | Ariane 44L | Kourou | 18 December 1993 | |
| Turkey | Turksat 1B | Türksat | Aérospatiale | Ariane 44LP | Kourou | 10 August 1994 | |
| Czech Republic | Magion 4 | Molniya-M | Plesetsk | 2 August 1995 | Formerly part of Czechoslovakia | ||
| Ukraine | Sich-1 | Tsyklon-3 | Plesetsk | 31 August 1995 | Formerly part of the Soviet Union | ||
| Chile | FASat-Alfa | SSTL | Failed to separate | ||||
| Malaysia | MEASAT-1 | MEASAT | Hughes | Ariane 44L | Kourou | 13 January 1996 | |
| Norway | Thor 2 | Telenor | Hughes | Delta II 7925 | Cape Canaveral | 20 May 1997 | |
| Philippines | Mabuhay (Agila 1) (former Palapa B2P) | Mabuhay | Delta-3920 | Cape Canaveral | 20 March 1987 | Originally operated and launched for Indonesian company PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara. Acquired while on orbit by Mabuhay in 1996 making it the first Philippine owned satellite. | |
| Mabuhay 1 (Agila 2) | SS/Loral | Chang Zheng 3B | Xichang | 19 August 1997 | First Philippine satellite to be launched from space | ||
| Egypt | Nilesat 101 | Nilesat | Astrium | Ariane 44P | Kourou | 28 April 1998 | |
| Singapore Taiwan | ST-1 | SingTel Chunghwa | Astrium | Ariane 44P | Kourou | 25 August 1998 | |
| Taiwan | Formosat-1 | NSPO | TRW | Athena I | Cape Canaveral | 27 January 1999 | |
| South Africa | SUNSAT | Stellenbosch | Stellenbosch | Delta II 7920 | Vandenberg | 23 February 1999 | Launched on same rocket as first Danish satellite |
| Denmark | Ørsted | DMI | CRI | Launched on same rocket as first South African satellite | |||
| Georgia | Reflektor | Energia-GPI Space | Energia-GPI Space | Soyuz-U | Baikonur Site 1/5 | 17 July 1999 | Formerly part of the Soviet Union |
| United Arab Emirates | Thuraya 1 | Thuraya | Boeing | Zenit-3SL | Odyssey | 21 October 2000 | |
| Belgium | PROBA-1 | ESA | Verhaert Space | Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle | Satish Dhawan | 22 October 2001 | |
| Morocco | Maroc-Tubsat | TU Berlin | Zenit-2 | Baikonur | 10 December 2001 | ||
| Tonga | Esiafi 1 (formerly Comstar D4) | TONGASAT | SS/Loral | Atlas SLV-3D Centaur-D1AR | Cape Canaveral | 21 February 1981 | A private American satellite that transferred ownership to Tonga in April 2002 |
| Algeria | AlSAT-1 | SSTL | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk | 28 November 2002 | ||
| Greece | Hellas-Sat 2 | Hellas-Sat | Astrium | Atlas V 401 | Cape Canaveral | 13 May 2003 | |
| Nigeria | NigeriaSat-1 | SSTL | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk | 27 September 2003 | ||
| Iran | Sina-1 | NPO Polyot | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk | 27 October 2005 | ||
| Kazakhstan | KazSat-1 | Khrunichev | Proton-M/DM3 | Baikonur | 17 June 2006 | Formerly part of the Soviet Union | |
| Colombia | Libertad-1 | Dnepr | Baikonur | 17 April 2007 | |||
| Mauritius | Rascom-QAF 1 | Rascom | Alcatel | Ariane 5GS | Kourou | 21 December 2007 | |
| Vietnam | Vinasat-1 | Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group | Lockheed Martin | Ariane 5ECA | Kourou | 18 April 2008 | |
| Venezuela | Venesat-1 | CAST | Chang Zheng 3B/E | Xichang | 29 October 2008 | ||
| Afghanistan | Eutelsat 48D / Afghansat 1 | Afghanistan Ministry of Communications and Information | EADS Astrium | Ariane 5ECA | Kourou | 20 December 2008 | Satellite leased to the Afghanistan Ministry of Communications and Information in January 2014 |
| Switzerland | SwissCube-1 | PSLV-CA | Satish Dhawan | 23 September 2009 | |||
| Singapore | X-Sat | SATREC | PSLV-C | Satish Dhawan | 20 April 2011 | ||
| Isle of Man | ViaSat-1 | ViaSat-IOM, ManSat, Telesat-IOM | SS/Loral | Proton-M/Briz-M | Baikonur | 19 October 2011 | Isle of Man is a Crown Dependency of the British sovereign |
| Hungary | MaSat-1 | BME | Vega | Kourou | 13 February 2012 | ||
| Poland | PW-Sat | Warsaw University of Technology, Space Research Centre | Deorbit on 28 October 2014 | ||||
| Romania | Goliat | ||||||
| Belarus | BelKA-2 | Soyuz-FG/Fregat | Baikonur | 22 July 2012 | |||
| North Korea | Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2 | KCST | Unha-3 | Sohae | 12 December 2012 | Failed to operate in orbit | |
| Azerbaijan | Azerspace-1/Africasat-1a | Space Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azercosmos) | Orbital Sciences | Ariane 5ECA | Kourou | 7 February 2013 | Independent since 1991 |
| Austria | TUGSAT-1/UniBRITE | UTAIS | PSLV-CA | Satish Dhawan | 25 February 2013 | Austria's first two satellites were launched together | |
| Bermuda | Bermudasat 1 (former EchoStar VI) | Bermudasat | SS/Loral | Atlas IIAS | Cape Canaveral | 14 July 2000 | Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory; Bermudasat 1 (former private American EchoStar VI) satellite was transferred in April 2013 to Bermuda being at orbit |
| Ecuador | NEE-01 Pegaso | EXA | EXA | Chang Zheng 2D | Jiuquan | 26 April 2013 | |
| Estonia | ESTCube-1 | Vega | Kourou | 7 May 2013 | Estonia was formerly part of the Soviet Union. | ||
| Jersey | O3b-1/O3b-2/O3b-3/O3b-4 | O3b Networks | Thales Alenia Space | Soyuz-STB/Fregat-MT | Kourou | 25 June 2013 | Jersey's first four satellites were launched together. Jersey is a Crown Dependency of the British sovereign |
| France Qatar | Eutelsat 25B / Es'hail 1 | Eutelsat Es'hailSat | SS/Loral | Ariane 5ECA | Kourou | 29 August 2013 | Qatar's first satellite flew as a joint project with the French corporation Eutelsat |
| Qatar | Es'hail 1 | Es'hailSat | SS/Loral | Ariane 5ECA | Kourou | 29 August 2013 | Full ownership of the joint France-Qatar satellite Eutelsat 25B / Es'hail 1 was sold to Es'hailsat in 2018 |
| Peru | PUCP-Sat 1 | Dnepr | Dombarovsky | 21 November 2013 | |||
| Pocket-PUCP | |||||||
| Bolivia | Túpac Katari 1 | CAST | Chang Zheng 3B/E | Xichang | 20 December 2013 | ||
| Lithuania | LitSat-1/Lituanica SAT-1 | Antares 120 | MARS LP-0A | 9 January 2014 | The first two Lithuanian satellites were launched together; both carried to the International Space Station and deployed later in the year. Lithuania was formerly part of the Soviet Union. | ||
| Iraq | Tigrisat | MOST / La Sapienza | La Sapienza | Dnepr | Dombarovsky | 19 June 2014 | |
| Uruguay | ANTELSAT | ANTEL | UdelaR | ||||
| Turkmenistan | TurkmenAlem52E/MonacoSAT | TNSA | Alcatel | Falcon 9 | Cape Canaveral | 27 April 2015 | Formerly part of the Soviet Union. |
| Laos | Laosat-1 | Laos National Authority for Science and Technology | CAST | Chang Zheng 3B/E | Xichang | 20 November 2015 | |
| Finland | Aalto-2 | Aalto University | Aalto University | Atlas V 401 | Cape Canaveral | 18 April 2017 | |
| Bangladesh | BRAC ONNESHA | BRACU | KIT | Falcon 9 Full Thrust | Kennedy | 3 June 2017 | Launched on same rocket as first Ghanaian and Mongolian satellites |
| Ghana | GhanaSat-1 | All Nations University | Launched on same rocket as first Bangladeshi and Mongolian satellites | ||||
| Mongolia | Mazaalai (satellite) | National University of Mongolia | Launched on same rocket as first Ghanaian and Bangladeshi satellites | ||||
| Latvia | Venta 1 | Ventspils University College | Ventspils University College | PSLV-CA | Satish Dhawan | 23 June 2017 | Formerly part of the Soviet Union, Launched on same rocket as first Slovakian satellite |
| Slovakia | skCUBE | SOSA | SOSA | Formerly part of Czechoslovakia, Launched on same rocket as first Latvian satellite | |||
| Angola | AngoSat 1 | AngoSat | RSC Energia | Zenit-3F / Fregat-SB | Baikonur | 26 December 2017 | Launch was successful but contact was lost quickly afterwards. On 28 December 2017, communication was restored and telemetry was received. |
| New Zealand | Humanity Star | Rocket Lab | Rocket Lab | Electron | Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 | 21 January 2018 | First satellite launched by New Zealand launcher. |
| Costa Rica | Proyecto Irazú | Costa Rica Institute of Technology | Costa Rica Institute of Technology | Falcon 9 | Cape Canaveral | 2 April 2018 | First satellite of Central America. Manufactured in Costa Rica. |
| Kenya | 1KUNS-PF | University of Nairobi | University of Nairobi | Launched on same rocket as first Costa Rican satellite. | |||
| Bhutan | Bhutan 1 | Bhutanese students under Kyutech-led second Joint Global Multination Birds Project (Birds-2) | Kyushu Institute of Technology | Falcon 9 Full Thrust | Cape Canaveral | 29 June 2018 | |
| Jordan | JY1-SAT | Jordanian students under the Crown Prince Foundation | Falcon 9 Full Thrust | Vandenberg | 3 December 2018 | ||
| Nepal | NepaliSat-1 | NASA for Nepal Academy of Science and Technology | Kyushu Institute of Technology | Antares 230 | MARS LP0A | 17 April 2019 | |
| Sri Lanka | Raavana 1 | Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies | Kyushu Institute of Technology | ||||
| Rwanda | RWASAT-1 | Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority | Rwandan engineers with support from the University of Tokyo | H-IIB | Tanegashima Space Center Yoshinobu Launch Complex | 24 September 2019 | Decay from orbit 27 April 2022 |
| Sudan | Sudan Remote Sensing Satellite 1 (SRSS-1) | Sudan | ISRA | Long March 4B | Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre LC-9 | 3 November 2019 | |
| Ethiopia | Ethiopian Remote Sensing Satellite 1 (ETRSS-1) | Ethiopia | Ethiopia Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute | Long March 4B | Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre | 20 December 2019 | |
| Guatemala | Quetzal-1 | Universidad del Valle de Guatemala | Guatemala Students from the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala | Falcon 9 | Cape Canaveral SLC-40 | 7 March 2020 | |
| Slovenia | TRISAT | University of Maribor | University of Maribor | Vega | Kourou | 3 September 2020 | Launched on same rocket as first Monégasque satellite. |
| NEMO-HD | Space-SI | UTIAS / Space-SI | |||||
| Monaco | OSM-1 Cicero | Orbital Solutions Monaco | Orbital Solutions Monaco | Launched on same rocket as first two Slovenian satellites. | |||
| Paraguay | GuaraniSat-1 | Paraguayan Space Agency and Kyutech-led fourth Joint Global Multination Birds Project | Kyushu Institute of Technology | Antares 230 | MARS LP0A | 20 February 2021 | Launched on same rocket as first Myanma satellite. |
| Myanmar | Lawkanat-1 | Myanmar Aerospace Engineering University | Hokkaido University / Myanmar Aerospace Engineering University | Launched on same rocket as first Paraguayan satellite. | |||
| Tunisia | Challenge-1 | Telnet Tunisie | Telnet Tunisie | Soyuz-2.1a / Fregat | Baikonur Site 31/6 | 22 March 2021 | |
| Kuwait | QMR-KWT | Orbital Space Kuwait | Orbital Space Kuwait | Falcon 9 | CCSFS SLC-40 | 30 June 2021 | |
| Bahrain United Arab Emirates | Light-1 | New York University Abu Dhabi | Engineers from Bahrain's space agency, NSSA, in collaboration with Khalifa University | Falcon 9 | CCSFS | 21 December 2021 | Bahrain's first satellite flew as a joint project with the UAE Space Agency |
| Armenia Spain |
ARMSAT_1 | Satlantis / Geocosmos | Satlantis | Falcon 9 | Cape Canaveral SLC-40 | 25 May 2022 | Joint satellite between Satlantis and Geocosmos |
| Moldova | TUMnanoSAT | Technical University of Moldova | Technical University of Moldova | Falcon 9 | Kennedy LC-39A | 15 July 2022 | Formerly part of the Soviet Union |
| Uganda | PearlAfricaSat-1 | Ministry of Science, Technology and Inocation | Ministry of Science, Technology and Inocation | Antares | MARS LP-0A | 7 November 2022 | Launched on the same rocket as the first Zimbabwean satellite |
| Zimbabwe | ZIMSAT-1 | Zimbabwe National Geospatial and Space Agency | Zimbabwe National Geospatial and Space Agency | Launched on the same rocket as the first Ugandan satellite | |||
| Albania | Albania 1 | State Authority for Geospatial Information | Satellogic | Falcon 9 | Cape Canaveral SLC-40 | 3 January 2023 | First Albanian satellites, launched as a pair |
| Albania 2 | |||||||
| Vatican City Italy |
SpeiSat | Dicastery for Communication/ASI | ASI | Falcon 9 | Vandenberg SLC-4E | 12 June 2023 | Joint satellite between the Italian Space Agency and the Vatican Dicastery for Communication |
| Oman | AMAN-1 | ETCO | SatRev | Falcon 9 | Vandenberg SLC-4E | 11 November 2023 | Launched on the same rocket as the first Djiboutian satellite |
| Djibouti | Djibouti-1A | University of Djibouti | University of Montpellier | Launched on the same rocket as the first Omani satellite | |||
| Armenia | Hayasat-1 | Bazoomq Space Research Laboratory | Bazoomq Space Research Laboratory, Center of Scientific Innovation and Education | Falcon 9 | Vandenberg SLC-4E | 1 December 2023 | |
| Ireland | EIRSAT-1 | University College Dublin | University College Dublin | Falcon 9 | Vandenberg SLC-4E | 1 December 2023 |
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