COMSAT

COMSAT Corporation (Communications Satellite Corporation) was a Bethesda, Maryland-based company that played a foundational role in creating the global commercial satellite communications industry. Founded in 1962 by Act of Congress under the Communications Satellite Act of 1962 — a unique public-private hybrid company with both public shareholders and mandated public interest obligations — COMSAT served as the United States' designated representative and shareholder in Intelsat (International Telecommunications Satellite Consortium, later Organization), the international satellite cooperative that built and operated the first commercial global satellite network beginning with Early Bird (Intelsat I) in 1965. COMSAT owned approximately 40% of Intelsat at its peak, receiving proportional revenue from the global satellite communications traffic. The company built COMSAT Laboratories in Clarksburg, Maryland — a major satellite communications R&D center that produced important technical advances in satellite modulation, modems, and earth station technology. COMSAT also held a stake in Inmarsat for maritime satellite communications. The company began diversifying in the 1980s-90s into direct services but struggled as Intelsat's privatization eliminated its privileged position. Lockheed Martin acquired COMSAT in 2000 for approximately $2.7B, absorbing it into its satellite services operations. COMSAT's legacy is the infrastructure architecture of global satellite communications that remains the foundation of the industry today.