Syncom-2 subsequently became the first geosynchronous satellite, and was placed at 55° west of the Greenwich Meridian.
Hughes Aircraft Company (now L-3 ETI) has developed the XIPS (Xenon Ion Propulsion System) for performing station keeping on its geosynchronous satellites (more than 100 engines flying).
FSSs were the first geosynchronous communications satellites (such as Intelsat 1 (Early Bird), Syncom 3, Anik 1, Westar 1, Satcom 1 and Ekran); new satellites continue to be launched to this day.
Geosynchronous satellite USA-230, also known as SBIRS High GEO 1, the first in a series of space surveylance satellites launched in 2011 as part of the United States Air Force's Space-Based Infrared System
Geosynchronous satellite USA-241, also known as SBIRS GEO 2, the second in a series of space surveylance satellites launched on March 19, 2013 as part of the United States Air Force's Space-Based Infrared System
A special case of the geosynchronous orbit, the geostationary orbit, has an eccentrity of zero (meaning the orbit is circular), and an inclination of zero in the Earth-Centered, Earth-Fixed coordinate system (meaning the orbital plane is not tilted relative to the Earth's equator).
The idea of space elevators has been around since 1960 when Yuri Artsutanov wrote a Sunday supplement to Pravda on how to build such a structure and the utility of geosynchronous orbit.
On July 1, 2009, from French Guiana in South America, TerreStar launched its geosynchronous satellite, TerreStar-1.