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Feb. 12, 2014

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What Is a Satellite?

NASAhasmorethanadozenEarthsciencesatellitesinorbit.
TheyhelpNASAstudytheoceans,landandatmosphere.
Credits:NASA

TheJason2satelliteorbitsEarth.Itcarriestoolsandsensorsto
helpscientistsstudytheoceans.
Credits:NASA

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TheSputniksatellitewasaboutthesizeofabasketballand
weighed183pounds.
Credits:NASA

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ThisarticleispartoftheNASAKnows!(Grades58)
(http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5
8/features/nasaknows/index.html)series.

Asatelliteisamoon,planetormachinethatorbitsa
planetorstar.Forexample,Earthisasatellite
becauseitorbitsthesun.Likewise,themoonisa
satellitebecauseitorbitsEarth.Usually,theword
"satellite"referstoamachinethatislaunchedinto
spaceandmovesaroundEarthoranotherbodyin
space.
Earthandthemoonareexamplesofnatural
satellites.Thousandsofartificial,ormanmade,
satellitesorbitEarth.Sometakepicturesofthe
planetthathelpmeteorologistspredictweatherand
trackhurricanes.Sometakepicturesofother
planets,thesun,blackholes,darkmatterorfaraway
galaxies.Thesepictureshelpscientistsbetter
understandthesolarsystemanduniverse.
Stillothersatellitesareusedmainlyfor
communications,suchasbeamingTVsignalsand
phonecallsaroundtheworld.Agroupofmorethan
20satellitesmakeuptheGlobalPositioningSystem,
orGPS.IfyouhaveaGPSreceiver,thesesatellites
canhelpfigureoutyourexactlocation.

WhyAreSatellitesImportant?
Thebird'seyeviewthatsatelliteshaveallowsthem
toseelargeareasofEarthatonetime.Thisability
meanssatellitescancollectmoredata,morequickly,
thaninstrumentsontheground.

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Satellitesalsocanseeintospacebetterthan

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telescopesatEarth'ssurface.That'sbecause

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satellitesflyabovetheclouds,dustandmoleculesin
theatmospherethatcanblocktheviewfromground
level.
Beforesatellites,TVsignalsdidn'tgoveryfar.TV
signalsonlytravelinstraightlines.Sotheywould
quicklytrailoffintospaceinsteadoffollowingEarth's
curve.Sometimesmountainsortallbuildingswould
blockthem.Phonecallstofarawayplaceswerealso
aproblem.Settinguptelephonewiresoverlong
distancesorunderwaterisdifficultandcostsalot.

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Withsatellites,TVsignalsandphonecallsaresent
upwardtoasatellite.Then,almostinstantly,the
satellitecansendthembackdowntodifferent
locationsonEarth.

WhatArethePartsofaSatellite?
Satellitescomeinmanyshapesandsizes.Butmost
haveatleasttwopartsincommonanantennaand
apowersource.Theantennasendsandreceives
information,oftentoandfromEarth.Thepower
sourcecanbeasolarpanelorbattery.Solarpanels
makepowerbyturningsunlightintoelectricity.
ManyNASAsatellitescarrycamerasandscientific
sensors.Sometimestheseinstrumentspointtoward
Earthtogatherinformationaboutitsland,airand
water.Othertimestheyfacetowardspacetocollect
datafromthesolarsystemanduniverse.

HowDoSatellitesOrbitEarth?
Mostsatellitesarelaunchedintospaceonrockets.A
satelliteorbitsEarthwhenitsspeedisbalancedby
thepullofEarth'sgravity.Withoutthisbalance,the
satellitewouldflyinastraightlineoffintospaceor
fallbacktoEarth.SatellitesorbitEarthatdifferent
heights,differentspeedsandalongdifferentpaths.
Thetwomostcommontypesoforbitare
"geostationary"(jeeohSTAYshunairee)and
"polar."
Ageostationarysatellitetravelsfromwesttoeast
overtheequator.Itmovesinthesamedirectionand
atthesamerateEarthisspinning.FromEarth,a
geostationarysatellitelookslikeitisstandingstill
sinceitisalwaysabovethesamelocation.
Polarorbitingsatellitestravelinanorthsouth
directionfrompoletopole.AsEarthspins
underneath,thesesatellitescanscantheentire
globe,onestripatatime.
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WhyDon'tSatellitesCrashIntoEachOther?

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Actually,theycan.NASAandotherU.S.and
internationalorganizationskeeptrackofsatellitesin
space.Collisionsarerarebecausewhenasatelliteis
launched,itisplacedintoanorbitdesignedtoavoid
othersatellites.Butorbitscanchangeovertime.And
thechancesofacrashincreaseasmoreandmore
satellitesarelaunchedintospace.
InFebruary2009,twocommunicationssatellites
oneAmericanandoneRussiancollidedinspace.
This,however,isbelievedtobethefirsttimetwo
manmadesatelliteshavecollidedaccidentally.

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WhatWastheFirstSatelliteinSpace?
Sputnik1wasthefirstsatelliteinspace.TheSoviet
Unionlauncheditin1957.

WhatIstheHistoryofNASASatellites?
NASAhaslauncheddozensofsatellitesintospace,
startingwiththeExplorer1satellitein1958.Explorer
1wasAmerica'sfirstmanmadesatellite.Themain
instrumentaboardwasasensorthatmeasuredhigh
energyparticlesinspacecalledcosmicrays.
ThefirstsatellitepictureofEarthcamefromNASA's
Explorer6in1959.TIROS1followedin1960with
thefirstTVpictureofEarthfromspace.These
picturesdidnotshowmuchdetail.Buttheydidshow
thepotentialsatelliteshadtochangehowpeople
viewEarthandspace.

HowDoesNASAUseSatellitesToday?
NASAsatelliteshelpscientistsstudyEarthand
space.
SatelliteslookingtowardEarthprovideinformation
aboutclouds,oceans,landandice.Theyalso
measuregasesintheatmosphere,suchasozone
andcarbondioxide,andtheamountofenergythat
Earthabsorbsandemits.Andsatellitesmonitor
wildfires,volcanoesandtheirsmoke.
Allthisinformationhelpsscientistspredictweather
andclimate.Theinformationalsohelpspublichealth
officialstrackdiseaseandfamineithelpsfarmers
knowwhatcropstoplantandithelpsemergency
workersrespondtonaturaldisasters.
Satellitesthatfacetowardspacehaveavarietyof
jobs.Somewatchfordangerousrayscomingfrom
thesun.Othersexploreasteroidsandcomets,the
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historyofstars,andtheoriginofplanets.Some

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satellitesflynearororbitotherplanets.These

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spacecraftmaylookforevidenceofwateronMarsor
capturecloseuppicturesofSaturn'srings.

MoreAboutSatellites
Play"MissionstoPlanetEarth"!
(http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/earthcardgame/en/)
Orbits'R'Us!
(http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/goes/goes_poes_orbits.shtm
BeSpuzzled!Game
(http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/spuzzled/en/)
TheThreeLittlePiggybackSatellites
(http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/st5/flingman.shtml)
EarthMissionsPast,PresentandFutureSatellites
(http://nasascience.nasa.gov/earth
science/mission_list)
EyesonEarth3D(http://climate.nasa.gov/Eyes/)
SpacePlaceLive!:Howcanasatellitestayputover
thesamespotonEarth?
Watchthisepisode
(http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/review/spaceplace
live/shows/ep008/spl.swf)
Readthetranscript
(http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/review/spaceplace
live/text_version008.html)

ReadWhatIsaSatellite?(GradesK4)
(http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k
4/stories/nasaknows/whatisasatellitek4.html)
ReturntoNASAKnows!(Grades58)
(http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5
8/features/nasaknows/index.html)
ReturntoStudents58
(http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5
8/index.html)
DanStillman,InstituteforGlobalEnvironmental
Strategies
LastUpdated:Sept.16,2015
Editor:SandraMay

Feb. 1, 2012

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What Is Robonaut?

Read Full Article

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Nov. 9, 2009

What Is Robotics?

Read Full Article

April 28, 2009

What Is the Hubble Space

Telescope?

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Telescope?

Search

Read Full Article

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Jan. 6, 2009

What Is the Fermi

Gamma-ray Space
Telescope?

Read Full Article

(/)
NationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministration
PageLastUpdated:Sept.16,2015
NASAOfficial:BrianDunbar
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NoFearAct(http://odeo.hq.nasa.gov/nofear.html)

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FOIA(http://www.nasa.gov/FOIA)
Privacy

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(http://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html)
OfficeofInspectorGeneral(http://oig.nasa.gov/)
AgencyFinancialReports
(http://www.nasa.gov/news/budget/index.html)
ContactNASA

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(http://www.nasa.gov/about/contact/index.html)

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