Satellites

1) A satellite is an object that orbits a planet.

2) The moon is the Earth's natural satellite.3) Satellites stay in orbit due to gravity and

their speed, which prevents them from falling to Earth or flying off into space.

4) Geostationary satellites orbit the Earth every 24 hours and remain over the same point on the Earth.

History changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world's first artificial satellite that was about the size of a beach ball.

It sent out a radiowave signal that was simply a beep. Everyone could tune into it using their radio.

Uses of satellites – Weather Forecasts

The weather forecast uses GEOSTATIONARY satellites to monitor weather over the United Kingdom

Uses of satellites – Communications

The satellite TV channels use GEOSTATIONARY satellites to beam the programmes over the United Kingdom. They must stay overhead or we would lose the signal and miss our favourite programmes.

Uses of satellites – Spying

The countries of the world use satellites to spy on other countries. They take pictures to collect information on army positions and possible terrorist camps.

Questions on satellites

What is a satellite?

What is a geostationary orbit?

Why does SKY TV use a geostationary orbiting satellite?

Why does a spy satellite not have a geostationary orbit?