The first artificial satellite to be launched into the Earth's orbit was the Soviet Union's Sputnik 1, on 4 October 1957. Space probes are satellites designed for robotic space exploration outside of Earth, and space stations are in essence crewed satellites. The signal delay from satellites and their orbit's predictability are used in satellite navigation systems, such as GPS. Because satellites can see a large portion of the Earth at once, communications satellites can relay information to remote places. Space telescopes take advantage of outer space's near perfect vacuum to observe objects with the entire electromagnetic spectrum. A small number of satellites orbit other bodies (such as the Moon, Mars, and the Sun) or many bodies at once (two for a halo orbit, three for a Lissajous orbit).Įarth observation satellites gather information for reconnaissance, mapping, monitoring the weather, ocean, forest, etc. As the number of satellites and space debris around Earth increases, the threat of collision has become more severe. Some imaging satellites chose a Sun-synchronous orbit because they can scan the entire globe with similar lighting. In 2018, about 90% of satellites orbiting Earth are in low Earth orbit or geostationary orbit geostationary means the satellites stay still at the sky. Satellites can then change or maintain the orbit by propulsion, usually by chemical or ion thrusters. Satellites are placed from the surface to orbit by launch vehicles, high enough to avoid orbital decay by the atmosphere. Most communication satellites are radio relay stations in orbit and carry dozens of transponders, each with a bandwidth of tens of megahertz. Because of the high launch cost to space, satellites are designed to be as lightweight and robust as possible.
Similar satellites can work together as a group, forming constellations. Many satellites use a standardized bus to save cost and work, the most popular of which is small CubeSats. Most satellites also have a method of communication to ground stations, called transponders. Other satellites include the final rocket stages that placed satellites in orbit and formerly useful satellites that are now defunct.Įxcept for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs). Additional military uses are reconnaissance, early warning, signals intelligence and, potentially, weapon delivery. Satellites have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation (GPS), broadcasting, scientific research, and Earth observation. Two CubeSats orbiting around Earth after being deployed from the ISS Kibō module's Small Satellite Orbital DeployerĪ satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space.
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