Satellite Research

There are two definitions of the satellite:

1. Natural satellite which in the most common usage, an astronomical body that orbits a planet, dwarf planet, or small Solar System body (or sometimes another natural satellite)

2. Artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space.

However, the artificial satellite is mostly people referring to the satellite.

Satellites are placed from the surface to orbit by launch vehicles, and then change or maintain the orbit by propulsion. In 2018, about 90% of satellites orbiting Earth are in low Earth orbit or geostationary orbit, 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).

The first artificial satellite to be launched into the Earth’s orbit was the Soviet Union’s Sputnik 1, on 4 October 1957.

Earth observation satellites gather information for reconnaissance, mapping, monitoring the weather, ocean, forest, etc. Space telescopes take advantage of outer space’s near perfect vacuum to observe objects with the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Because satellites can see a large portion of the Earth at once, communications satellites can relay information to remote places. The signal delay from satellites and their orbit’s predictability are used in satellite navigation systems, such as GPS. Space probes are satellites designed for robotic space exploration outside of Earth, and space stations are in essence crewed satellites. There are lots of other usages of satellite,s for example, experimental satellites(Biosatellites) are satellites designed to carry living organisms, generally for scientific experimentation; Weapon satellites for Space weapons or Anti-satellite weapons.

Issues like space debris, radio and light pollution are increasing in magnitude and at the same time lack progress in national or international regulation.

1. Space debris poses dangers to spacecraft(including satellites) in or crossing geocentric orbits which could potentially curtail humanity from conducting space endeavors in the future.
2. With the increase in numbers of satellite constellations, like SpaceX Starlink, the astronomical community report that orbital pollution is getting increased significantly.
3. The effects of large satellite constellations can severely affect some astronomical research efforts.
4. Due to the low received signal strength of satellite transmissions, they are prone to jamming by land-based transmitters.
5. Also, it is very easy to transmit a carrier radio signal to a geostationary satellite and thus interfere with the legitimate uses of the satellite’s transponder. It is common for Earth stations to transmit at the wrong time or on the wrong frequency in commercial satellite space, and dual-illuminate the transponder, rendering the frequency unusable.

Experimental Sketch:

Data Source:

https://www.destinationspace.uk/how-we-use-satellites/how-far-away-close-are-satellites/