Communications satellite of a GEO satellite. Like LEOs, these satellites don’t maintain a stationary distance from the earth. This is in contrast to the geostationary orbit, where satellites are always approximately from the earth. Typically the orbit of a medium earth orbit satellite is about above earth. In various patterns, these satellites make the trip around earth in anywhere from 2 to 8 hours. In 1962, the first communications satellite, Telstar, was launched. It was a medium earth orbit satellite designed to help facilitate high-speed telephone signals. Although it was the first practical way to transmit signals over the horizon, its major
Sirius XM Satellite Radio argued that a merger was the only way that satellite radio could survive. In September 2018, the company agreed to purchase the competing streaming music service, Pandora. Sirius Satellite Radio was founded by Martine Rothblatt, David Margolese, and Robert Briskman. In 1990, Rothblatt founded Satellite CD Radio in Washington, DC. The company was the first to petition the FCC to assign unused frequencies for satellite radio broadcast, which "provoked a furor among owners of both large and small [terrestrial] radio stations." In April 1992, Rothblatt resigned as chairman and CEO to start a medical research foundation. Former NASA engineer Briskman,