SATELLITE

 

A satellite is a smaller body in space that orbits around any planet or moon or star. In other words, an artificial body placed in orbit around the earth or moon, or any other planet for information collection or communication purposes is a satellite. These satellites are used for diverse purposes such as weather forecasting, television signals, radio and internet communications, and Global positioning systems, satellites are generally operated by communication organizations, governments, and the military. 

Satellites are launched into space using a rocket. They are designed and programmed to be operated from the earth. They are positioned at different heights from earth and travel at different speeds and across different tracks around the earth. The earth's gravitational pull keeps the satellite from following a path straight out into space. 

Satellites have an antenna to send and receive data. The satellite may have other equipment such as cameras, telescopes, and sensors depending on its purpose. The satellites typically have a battery or solar power panels for a power source. The satellites are manufactured differently in size depending on the purpose of the satellite. 

The communication satellites are used for transmitting television., radio, voice, and data signals. They transfer the signals to receiving stations on the earth. If we are talking to someone on a phone call, the satellite capture voice signals increase their strength and retransmits those signals to the receiver phone and vice versa. This process is carried out continuously in fractions of a second. The network towers are mediators between the phone and satellite. The satellites have the ability to view large parts of the earth from space. This allows them to gather data, images,s and video signals quickly. This information is used in various ways, including weather forecasting and military applications. Satellites are used for collecting data for space exploration. Some specialized systems, such as Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb telescope, have the ability to capture images of solar systems, planets, and celestial phenomena faster and more clearly than ground-based telescopes. The James Web Telescope is the most powerful and important telescope ever built. It can provide images of distant galaxies and cosmic events, which helps scientists collect information and explore the universe. 

There are three types of the satellite orbit. 

Geostationary orbit

A geostationary satellite orbits the sun over the equator, approximately 36000 km above the earth's surface. These satellites remain over the same spot on the earth's surface and it's one complete trip around the earth relative to the sun takes 24 hours. The weather forecasting satellites are usually geostationary satellites. 

Low Earth orbit

This satellite system uses a large fleet(line) of satellites. Each satellite is in a circular orbit at a constant altitude of about 250-2500 km above the earth's surface. This system makes it possible for anyone to have a wireless internet connection. Any point on the earth, using an advanced antenna. Communication satellites are usually Low Earth Orbit satellites. 

Polar orbit

These satellites have orbits the transverse North and South poles about 200-1000 km above the earth's surface. They are used for government and military applications. These satellites can see all Or most of the earth's surface.