Satellites
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How a Satellite works:
Most modern satellites have similar basic parts and most have extra parts
for their special needs. They have generally three basic parts. They are a
radar system which is used to measure the height from the earths surface,
receivers and transmitters to receive and send out signals, usually radio or
micro waves, they also have small altitude control
 nozzles that squirt out
puffs of gas to tilt the satellite to change it’s altitude or direction.
These are also known as thrusters or sometimes ‘puffers'. Most satellites
have special equipment for their special needs. For example Research
satellites may have telescopes and antennae that they point into space to
receive rays from deep in space, Survsat (survey satellites) have
telescopes, cameras and other sensors to view the earth’s surface and Comsat
(communications satellites) have various antennae and thousands of
transponders (automatic devices used to receive and send radio signals) each
one dealing with a radio or telephone signal, or dealing with part of a
Television channel. All of the equipment is built by electronics experts and
aerospace engineers who give satellite makers a range that they can choose
from. Some satellite makers sell their satellites commercially and their
satellites can cost you in excess of US$15million and can take up to two
years to build. Custom satellites can also be made for individual needs but
these can take double the time and can cost up to five times as much. It can
be seen that the satellite business is a very costly one.
Satellites electronics have to be powered and are usually
sone so with the help of the sun. Satellites have large panels, which fold
out and contain many solar cells. Although this is the case for half of the
satellites orbit it is in total darkness and therefore it needs to have a
battery to power it, which most satellites do. These batteries as recharged
by the solar panels and then continue to power the satellite during the time
of darkness.
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How a satellite works | Communication satellites
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