12 August 1867 [cycle 72, year Ding-wei, month 6 day 23]: First communications satellite

The Chinese Empire orbited its first communications satellite, the Zhen 1. The benefits were so great that by the end of the year, they were orbiting a new satellite once a week.

In reality, the concept of the communications satellite was first proposed by Arthur C. Clarke, based on Herman Potočnik's pseudonymous work from 1929. In 1945 Clarke published an article titled "Extra-terrestrial Relays" in the magazine Wireless World. The article described the fundamentals behind the deployment artificial satellites in geostationary orbits for the purpose of relaying radio signals.

The first active communications satellite was AT&T's Telstar. Developed as part of a multi-national agreement between AT&T, Bell Telephone Laboratories, NASA, the British General Post Office, and the French National PTT to develop satellite communication, it was launched by NASA from Cape Canaveral on July 10, 1962, the first privately sponsored space launch.

In our timeline, China's first satellite was Dong Fang Hong 01 (东方红, also called Mao 01), launched on 24 April 1970 by a Long March (Chang Zheng) launch vehicle.