Types of satellites

Meteorological Satellites - help meteorologists to predict the weather or see what is happening at the moment. The satellites generally have cameras that can take pictures of the earth's climate, both from a point geostacionário fixed as polar orbits.

Satellite Communications - allows data and telephone conversations can be retransmitted via a satellite. Satellites to cover the Telstar communications and Intelsat.

Satellite broadcasting of television - send signals from one point to another (similar to the satellites of communication).

Satellites Scientific - perform a variety of scientific missions. The Hubble space telescope is one of the most famous scientific satellites, but there are several others to observe a bit of everything from patches to solar gamma rays.


Satellite Navigation - to help ships and aircraft to navigate. The most famous are the GPS satellites NAVSTAR.

Rescue Satellite - to respond to radio signals at the request of relief.

Terrestrial Observation Satellites - of analyzing the planet, looking for changes, from deforestation to the temperature and coverage of the ice pack. The most famous are the series LANDSAT.

Military Satellites - many their real applications remain a secret. The possibilities for the collection of information using electronic, high-tech equipment and a sophisticated recognition of photographic are unlimited.

Different satellite orbits

1. The artificial satellites occupy different orbits that have different characteristics. Normally, these routes are defined in relation to Earth.


2. Most of telecommunication satellites are geostationary satellites, or occupy an orbit geostacionária.


3. Depending on the altitude at which the satellites are, and depending on the characteristics that describe the orbit, it is possible to define various types of orbits: - GEO (Geosynchronous Earth Orbit): circular orbit equatorial geossíncrona.´

• Lperíodo of revolution: 23h56 m4, 091 s


• Laltitude average: 35786 km

• LEO (Low Earth Orbit): órblaltitude typical: 500-1500 km Lperíodo of revolution 1h 30m-2h

• MEO (Medium Earth Orbit): circular orbit of average altitude Laltitude typical: 10400 km Lperíodo of revolution 6 hours

• HEO (Highly Elliptical Orbit): elliptic orbit Lórbita elliptic inclined Lperigeu low altitude