TONGASAT is the licensed agent of the Kingdom of Tonga responsible for making and coordinating Tonga's satellite filings to the International Telecommunication Union and then licensing those satellite filings to international satellite operators for their commercial use, in effect a flag of convenience for space. Tonga was the sixth-largest claimant of orbital slots due to Tongasat's efforts. In 2002, Tongasat launched the Esiafi 1 satellite; as of 2015, a satellite in its spot was still in operation. History Matt Nilson, the founder of Tongasat, had previously started a satellite company, Advanced Business Communications Inc, and got approval to launch two satellites; the project, however, soon failed. He launched Tongasat after moving to Tonga from San Diego originally to retire in 1987. Through personal connections, Nilson communicated his idea to Princess Salote Pilolevu Tuita, who then informed her father, King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, of the idea. Tāufaāhau Tupou, intrigued partially because of Tonga's poor communication systems, set up a formal meeting with Nilson in November 1987. Nilson convinced the king to secure orbital slots from the International Telecommunication Union along with other Oceanic nations. In April 1988, the Tongan government authorized the company, officially established as the Friendly Islands Satellite Communications Inc and registered on 13 February 1989. Tongasat's goal was to both profit commercially from the slots and to create a regional network in the Pacific to promote satellite operation. While the Government would not have to fund operations, it would receive half of the profit. The company began with a loan by Nilson of $1,000,000. Tongasat planned to lease each spot for $2,000,000 a year, which could have resulted in a 20% increase in Tonga's national budget. Tongasat, by commercializing orbital slots, created a market for space that previously had not existed. Tongasat ended up charging around $700,000 per transponder. In September 1994, Tongasat's market capitalization was valued at $45 million. After years of opaque finances supporting Salote Pilolevu Tuita, in 2009 the company paid back its debts to the Tongan government. In August 2018, Tongasat was convicted of transferring money from a Chinese venture to Salote Pelolevu Tuita instead of the government. Tongasat appealed, which was rejected by the Supreme Court. Nilson's application for sixteen out of a total of 180 orbital slots on 23 March 1990 - the last useful unclaimed ones - from the ITU sparked widespread outrage. Intelsat, which had a near monopoly on Earth's