PanAmSat Corporation

Beautifully engraved specimen certificate from the PanAmSat Corporation incorporated in 1994. This historic document has an ornate border around it with a vignette of an allegorical woman standing in front of a globe. This item has the printed signatures of the company’s president and secretary/treasurer.

PanAmSat Corporation, based in Greenwich, Conn., is a leading provider of global video and data broadcasting services via satellite. The company builds, owns and operates networks that deliver entertainment and information to cable television systems, TV broadcast affiliates, direct-to-home TV operators, Internet service providers, telecommunications companies and corporations. With 21 spacecraft in orbit today, PanAmSat has the world’s largest commercial geostationary satellite network. Supported by PanAmSat professionals on five continents, the company's vast resources serve as crucial communications links.

A Brief History of PanAmSat



1983: The first Galaxy satellite is launched, revolutionizing the U.S. television industry by delivering TV channels to cable service providers throughout the country. Galaxy I becomes the foundation for the nation’s premier cable satellite neighborhood.



1984: Rene Anselmo founds PanAmSat as a commercial alternative to the government-owned international satellite monopoly. He places his personal funds on the line to launch the world’s first privately owned international satellite.



1988: PanAmSat launches the PAS-1 Atlantic Ocean Region satellite, becoming the first private-sector company to provide international satellite services.



1989: PanAmSat announces plans by CNN, the company’s first customer, to use the PAS-1 Atlantic Ocean Region satellite as the avenue of choice for international broadcasting to Latin America.



1990: The Galaxy business completes the purchase of the SBS fleet of satellites from IBM. These Ku-band satellites are combined with the current Galaxy satellites and the recently purchased Westar satellites from Western Union to create a vastly expanded satellite communications network in the United States.



1991: PanAmSat announces plans to become a global service provider with the construction and launch of three additional satellites.



1995: PanAmSat becomes the world’s first private-sector company to provide global satellite services with the launch of its third satellite, the PAS-4 Indian Ocean Region satellite.



1995-6: Both PanAmSat and Galaxy launch satellites providing direct-to-home television services in Latin America for the two dominant DTH providers, Sky Latin America and Galaxy Latin America.



1996: PanAmSat and Hughes Electronics Corp. announce plans to merge their respective fixed satellite services operations into a new publicly held company, also called PanAmSat, setting the stage to create the world’s premier commercial satellite service provider.



1997: The new PanAmSat begins operations in May with a fleet of 14 satellites.



1998: PanAmSat demonstrates its unparalleled ability to meet customer service requirements and provide backup capacity when the Galaxy IV satellite fails in orbit and service restoration begins within hours of the satellite anomaly.



1998: PanAmSat announces plans to nearly double its worldwide transmission capacity by mid-2001 with the launch of nine additional satellites.

1998: PanAmSat becomes the first satellite operator to transmit high-definition television (HDTV) on a commercial basis in the United States for a major network.

1998: PanAmSat successfully completes three satellite launches, growing its global fleet to 19 spacecraft worldwide.

1999: In April, R. Douglas Kahn, an entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in the development and operation of high-technology businesses, becomes president and CEO of PanAmSat.

1999: PanAmSat launches the Galaxy XI satellite.

2000: PanAmSat launches the Galaxy XR spacecraft, the first satellite of the new millennium and the fifth in company's Galaxy cable neighborhood.

2000: PanAmSat launches Galaxy IVR, the company's fourth new spacecraft in less than five months.

2000: PanAmSat unveils NET-36TM, a high-speed, bandwidth-intensive IP broadcast network, that will deliver streaming video, audio and data to edge-of-the-net servers around the globe.

2000: PanAmSat launches the PAS-1R Atlantic Ocean Region satellite, the company’s largest and most powerful spacecraft ever. Upon service commencement, PAS-1R replaced PAS-1, the world’s first commercial international satellite.