News from within the empire - From a leftist perspective
Elektron 1 was a Soviet satelite launched in 1964 to study radiation in space. It is still in Earth orbit and intact (but not functional).
Molniya is a series of Soviet satellites manufactured between 1965-2003. Many are still in orbit and functional to this day, with the oldest one hailing from 1977.
Soyuz first flew humans to space in 1967. It's still doing so today, with some revisions in the meantime but fundamentally it's the same system. It's still the cheapest way to space.
Meanwhile the US had to end the space shuttle program for cost and safety reasons, and has only found a way back with SpaceCIA. The shuttle would have been a better system if the military hadn't gotten involved, but capitalists can't separate science from the interests of capital.