Artificial satellites are man-made instruments that orbit around a celestial body in space. The International Space station is an artificial satellite that orbits our Earth. Humans even sent an artificial satellite, Cassini, to Saturn to explore its moons and gas rings. Cassini satellite orbited Saturn from 2004 to 2017.
Artificial satellites came into existence only 60 -70 years back. Furthermore, The first man-made satellite was the Russian satellite Sputnik, which was launched in 1957. It was the size of a beach-ball. This came as a shocking achievement from the Soviets, who until then had a poor image in the world regarding intelligence and technology.
History Of Artificial Satellites
After the success of the first Sputnik in 1957, the Soviets launched a bigger one the second time – Sputnik 2. Moreover, a live dog named Laika was aboard this satellite. The United States followed soon with its first satellite – Explorer 1 in 1958. Moreover, this one was only 2% of Sputnik 2’s mass and weighed 13 kg only.
The Sputniks and Explorer 1 started the trend of launching space probes until the 1960s. In 1961, both countries send humans to their spacecraft. The United Nations next launched a mission to land humans on the moon, while Russia went on to design the first space station, known as Salyut 1, launched in 1971.
Benefits Of Artificial Satellites
This trend inspired other countries to send their own satellites into space. People soon began to realize the benefits of space studies with accurate weather forecasts. The Land watching satellite such as the Landsat gave accurate information about changes in water, land, and forests on the Earth. With the launch of telecommunication tools, long-distance calls became a reality and live television broadcasts soon became a part of our everyday lives. Furthermore, the Millenials saw the benefit of artificial satellites with the internet. Scientists today are sending miniatures of these tools into space to perform telecommunications and other such functions. Moreover, companies now commonly create ‘Cub’Sats’ or cube-shaped satellites to orbit around the Earth and help them with their own data.
One Of The Biggest Artificial Satellites – ISS
The International Space Station is one of the biggest satellites orbiting the earth. It took more than 10 years to create it, piece by piece. 15 countries contributed to the development of the ISS. It was put together between 1998 to 2011 and is expected to continue running until 2024.
What Are The Main Parts of A Satellite?
Any robotic or artificial satellite has four main parts; a power system, antenna to transmit and receive information, altitude controlling system, and a camera or particle detector to collect information.
What Are The Various Types Of Artificial Satellites?
The different types of artificial satellites include communication, drones, polar, ground, navigation, remote sensing, etc.
How Are Artificial Satellites Launched Into Space?
These tools are launched into space by tagging along with a rocket or on the Space Shuttle. They are placed in these inside the cargo bay and launched into space once they are out of the earth’s atmosphere.
