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In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavor. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon. The first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. By 2009 thousands of satellites had been launched into orbit around the Earth. These originate from more than 50 countries and have used the satellite launching capabilities of ten nations. A few hundred satellites are currently operational, whereas thousands of unused satellites and satellite fragments orbit the Earth as space debris. A few space probes have been placed into orbit around other bodies and become artificial satellites to the Moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Satellites are used for a large number of purposes. Common types include military (spy) and civilian Earth observation satellites, communication satellites, navigation satellites, weather satellites, and research satellites. Space stations and human spacecraft in orbit are also satellites. Satellite orbits vary greatly, depending on the purpose of the satellite, and are classified in a number of ways. Well-known (overlapping) classes include low Earth orbit, polar orbit, and geostationary orbit. Satellites are usually semi-independent computer controlled systems. Satellite subsystems attend many tasks, such as power generation, thermal control, telemetry, attitude control and orbit control. From Wikipedia under the
GNU Free Documentation License  fonart.com 263px x 600px | 35.00kB [source page] Concert de satellites + marcel cranc al teatre lloseta festival alternatilla divendres 28 de marc de 2008 a les 21 30 h Preu 10 euros inclou CD de Satellites Venda d entrades a  org44.com 302px x 220px | 40.00kB [source page] Satellites Photographs from the Fringes of the Former Soviet Union From Yahoo Image Search: "Satellites"  scienceblog.com BJS ue, 10 Nov 2009 10:00:53 GM NASA's Aqua and Terra . satellites. are keeping a close eye on Tropical Storm Ida, and both have instruments aboard that show her clouds and rains are already widespread inland over the U.S. Gulf coast states. ...  tgdaily.com unknown ue, 02 Jun 2009 05:02:37 GM The . satellite. images are more accurate that the previous method of tracking the birds by ship or helicopter. Higher resolution images can hopefully be used to count the number of penguins in each colony and keep track of any decline in ...  defenceweb.co.za unknown ue, 03 Nov 2009 14:21:28 GM Intelsat is adding to its fleet of . satellites. orbiting over Africa in the next few years, as it launches three new . satellites. that will cover the continent. From Google Blog Search: "Satellites"  news.google.com Joy Online Ghana's U20 team has shamed Nigerian coach Samsom Siasia and journalist Mark Gleeson after the Black Satellites won the world title on Friday. ... South Africa 2010 Organising Committee congratulates Ghana's Black Satellites Ghana Business News PNC Celebrates Satellites Peace fm Online Ghana Won't Declare A Public Holiday For Victorious Black Satellites Goal.com NEXT - Fifa.com - Le Mali en ligne all 439 news articles » news.google.com tourneyblog.com (blog) William Hill Poker are running a super satellite promotion to the first ITPL land based event for online qualifiers. The event will be held at the Hard Rock ... bet365 Poker International Team Poker League Satellites Bettingpro.com all 2 news articles » news.google.com Press Trust of India ISRO is a long-time customer of the European aerospace giant, which has launched 12 Indian satellites from 1988 to 2007. Another heavy Indian satellite in ... G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman of ISRO to head IAA iEncyclopedia all 15 news articles » From Google News Search: "Satellites" What prevents satellites in space from crashing against each other? Q. There are hundreds of satellites above us, I'm wondering how they control the traffic, so they won't hit each other! Asked by Axy - Thu Jun 18 21:52:09 2009 - - 8 Answers - 0 Comments A. Two things. First, space is really, really big, and satellites are pretty small. You know how small one airplane is in the vast expanse of sky above your head? Well, satellites are quite a bit smaller, and space is a heck of a lot bigger. Sheer probability can keep your satellites safe at least for a while. Second, satellites are placed in very carefully calculated trajectories, and almost always in circular orbits, which means a satellite is not capable of crashing into satellites in lower or higher orbits, only satellites in their own 'shell' of space outside the Earth. Space agencies furthermore track all the satellites they know of and are able to predict when two satellites may come close enough to hit each other, and often use a… [cont.] Answered by Meklar - Fri Jun 19 17:58:24 2009 Will satellites or telescopes be able to watch the navy missile strike the spy satellite? Q. I wonder if earth based telescopes or orbiting satellites such as Hubble will be able to observe the navy's attempt to shoot down the disabled U.S. spy satellite. That would very interesting to see footage of. Asked by dmg1969 - Fri Feb 15 07:59:58 2008 - - 4 Answers - 0 Comments A. Hubble will not be able to watch the attack upon the crippled spy satellite, but the U.S military has had telescopes for decades that can observe satellites and other objects in space. Moreover, there has been programs to develop anti-ballistic missiles and live tests have been conducted over the Pacific ocean. Telescopes have been able to follow both the interceptor and the target vehicle until they collided and destroyed each other. If they shoot the satellite down while over territory where a space surveillance telescope can observe the attack, we will probably see footage on the evening news. Successful destruction of this crippled spy satellite would demonstrate not only to the American public but to potential adversaries as well that… [cont.] Answered by nuscorpii223 - Fri Feb 15 08:22:27 2008 where can I go to find information on weather satellites?
Q. I have to do a report on Weather Satellites and not sure how to find accurate information like what is the job or when does it orbit, ect. Does anyone have a good website to help? Asked by animallover1965 - Thu May 15 16:33:00 2008 - - 1 Answers - 0 Comments A. Answered by C - Thu May 15 16:57:59 2008 From Yahoo Answer Search: "Satellites"
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Student Nitric Oxide Explorer
SpaceDev Small Satellites
Eurimage