Satellites

Satellites are usually overlooked when we think about endeavors in space because they are often overshadowed by large projects such as going to the moon, scientific discoveries, and plans of going to other planets. Satellites are simply just objects in space that orbit around a larger object, but the satellites that are most influential to our daily lives are the man-made ones we’ve launched. Satellites have been a major part of space programs around the world for many decades and they enable scientists and common people to utilize our technology in new ways and connect us with a variety of services at high speeds.

The first satellite to ever go into space was Sputnik, launched by the USSR on October 4th, 1957. The first time the U.S. was not able to successfully launch a satellite into orbit until Explorer 1 on January 31st, 1958. Even though the U.S. and the USSR were the first to enter space, many countries have followed suite since. Now, over 2000 artificial satellites are orbiting Earth, with about 164 belonging to Russia, 323 belonging to China, 1000 belonging to the United States, and the remaining 724 split among the remaining 89 countries. Note that even though so many countries have satellites in space, the only reason they can get them there is because they paid organizations like NASA or the ESA to launch satellites for them.

One of the first uses for satellites was to make scientific observations that were difficult to conduct on the surface. For example, Explorer 1 was sent up with a cosmic ray detector to measure radiation around Earth’s orbit. Using this sensor, researchers such as Dr. James Van Allen at the University of Iowa, detected a strong radiation from a belt of charged particles trapped in Earth’s magnetic field. This came to be known as the Van Allen Belts once confirmed by Explorer 3 launched 2 months later (Explorer 2 failed due to a malfunction in the Juno-1 launch vehicle).

Additionally, due to the large amount of satellites we have in orbit, we can use them for other uses as well. For example, many are used to transmit network TV directly to homes without having to create additional infrastructure. Similarly, phones connect to satellites to communicate in areas where there are no cell towers such as on a plane or in a remote area. Other uses include navigation (where satellites triangulate a GPS locator), weather monitoring (aerial coverage of weather patterns and events), as well as providing services like Internet connection to developing countries.

It is clear that satellites are here to stay since they are the backbone of most of our modern technology. However, problems still arise when using them. Every time we launch a satellite into space, we create thousands of chunks of debris in the atmosphere that orbit the earth at about 7 km per second, 30 times faster than a jet aircraft. This poses huge risks for the satellites we have up in space since a single piece of debris can damage a satellite, causing more debris to form, causing a snowball effect that may ultimately lead to it being impossible to safely launch a satellite into space. So, even though satellites have provided so much, current research has been shifting towards ways to tackle the ever-growing problem of space debris.

Sources:
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/infographics/infographic.view.php?id=11182
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/explorer/explorer-overview.html
https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/what-are-satellites-used
https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/satellite-database
https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200806/spacedebris.cfm