Satellite Overview

In the 1950s, the world was a very different place. Radio and television signals could only be received by those who lived near the transmitters, and phone signals could only travel by wire. Weather reports were often unreliable. There were few sources of news or information.
Then the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, in October of 1957, touching off a war of science with the United States. Within ten years humans visited the moon. Although the Race for Space has ended, space travel has not. The U.S. Space Surveillance Network currently tracks 560 active satellites. Another 7,500 objects are orbiting the earth and are either non-functional satellites or other space debris.
The modern world would not be possible without satellites. Satellites provide global communication, information about weather and the environment, entertainment, and vital navigation and rescue information. In spite of the technology’s military origins, many corporations now own satellites for communication or data-gathering purposes.
Satellites also provide an excellent observation platform. An object in orbit can see much more of the world than an observer on the ground. Orbital platforms also have a better view of things above our atmosphere, which is why the Hubble Space Telescope can see farther than anything on earth.