Satellite

How and why do People use Satellites?

Why and how? Two very important questions. However, first we should ask ourselves what people use it for. People use satellites for various purposes such as for weather, T.V., phones and anything else needed. It wasn’t until not so many years ago that Satellites were considered a rarity, very secretive and confidential.

They were used mainly for military purposes - navigation and espionage. As years past, this has changed, and today satellites are part of our everyday lives. Sometimes we recognize their use and sometimes they are in the background, not always visible.


The use of Satellites ahs saved people time and money throughout the years, since it went into use. For example, newspapers and magazines that use Satellite transmission are timelier due to the fact that they transmit their text and images to several printing destinations using satellite to quicken local distribution.

Another example is cable television that relies on Satellites to distribute transmission before sending signals through wires into our homes. One cannot forget the GPS (Global Positioning System) we all know so well and on which we so heavily depend nowadays to take us to the right destination.

There are different kinds of orbits and several different kinds of Satellites and their different intended uses as mentioned above will affect the choice of orbit.

What is a Satellite?

A Satellite is anything that circulates around a planet. The moon is the first original natural Satellite and three are many others that are artificial and made by man that are closer to Earth and the route that they follow is called an orbit.

Currently manmade Satellites are not built in quantities, but rather custom-made to perform a specific task. However, there are exceptions such as the GPS Satellites and Iridium Satellites.
Even though, according to dry terminology anything that is in orbit (revolving around Earth) is a Satellite, the term is mainly used to describe a useful device situated in orbit with the intention to be used for a specific assignment. This why we hear about “Weather Satellites” , “Communication Satellites”, “Scientific Satellites” etc.

All Shapes and Sizes of Satellites

Satellites can be found in all kinds of shapes and sizes, depending on their intended use and function. For instance, Weather satellites that assist meteorologists to predict the weather as well as understand what is happening in the present.


This type of Satellite holds cameras that can return images of Earth’s weather from specific points. There are also Communication Satellites that their job is to transmit data and conversation. There also Broadcast Satellites, Scientific satellites, Rescue Satellites, Earth Observation Satellites and Military satellites (usually very confidential).

In short, there are endless Satellites with endless applications for numerous uses.