Satellite MobilesSlide Show

Satellites fly around the Earth, very high, above the sky.

Have you ever seen them at night?

Different satellites have different jobs.

Some satellites work as antennas, the highest antennas anywhere.  They send out TV signals, for example.

Echo Star 3

Many satellites take some kind of picture.  The Hubble Telescope is a

satellite which looks up at the stars.

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Other satellites point their cameras down at the Earth to watch the

weather.

GOES 8

Other satellites photograph the

land, to watch our environment.

Chernobyl power plant, 1986

Landsat 4

Just as your body is made of parts, like arms and legs, satellites have parts too.  Let's talk about a few of

them.

Many satellites have a camera.  What part of an animal is like a

camera?

Here’s a hint:

Corona, the first reconnaissance satellite, 1960-1972

Most satellites have at least two antennas, so people can send

messages up and the satellite can send messages down.

It's a little bit like walkie-talkies. Can you think of

an animal that also has antennas?

Do you have antennas?

a Sputnik satellite

Many antennas have a dish to reflect messages, to make them louder.

Do animals have something like this?

How about you? Can you “dish” your ears? How about your mouth?

Lunar Orbiter Here’s a hint:

Most satellites have solar panels, which change sunlight into electricity, to charge the batteries. What part of a

plant is a kind of solar panel? 

Here’s a hint:

Many satellites have small jets!  They don't push the satellite into space–

they just help it steer in orbit.

Like awalleye’s

fins!

Or ahelicopter’s

tail rotor!Next >>

Finally, almost every satellite has a computer to tell all the parts how to work together. 

Do you have something like that?

So-- what do satellites look like when we put all these parts together?  Well-- unlike plain old airplanes, which tend to look the same . . .

and unlike plain old rockets, which really tend to look the same . . .

Satellites all look different! 

So they are fun to design! 

Can you design a satellite no one has ever seen

before? Telstar

Lunar ProspectorInternational Space Station