Comsat, Intelsat, and the Start of the Global Commercial Space Communications Industry

Article

“Comsat, Intelsat, and the Start of the Global Commercial Space Communications Industry” by Joseph N. Pelton
Published in Quest Volume: 32 #4 (2025)

Abstract

From 1969 to 1989, Dr. Pelton held key positions at Comsat and Intelsat, where he served as a special assistant to the Director General and the Director of Strategic Policy at Intelsat. In this article, he traces the evolution of satellite communications—from the V2 rocket in WWII to early development efforts to build commercial satellites for communications in the 1960s and 1970s, the foundation of Intelsat and Comsat, and the deregulation efforts in the 1980s that opened up the commercial comsat market to new competition.

Citation

Pelton, Joseph N. “Comsat, Intelsat, and the Start of the Global Commercial Space Communications Industry.” Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly 32, no. 4 (2025): 7-16.