How do Satellites work?

We live our lives knowing that many satellites orbit our planet
every day and that they are helping us in several ways
You might be surprised to know that there are almost
4900 satellites orbiting the Earth
The most obvious questions that come to mind are why are these
satellites in totally different orbits?
how does a satellite carry out all of its functions and
What are the components inside them which help them to
accomplish all of their allotted tasks?
Let's explore the answers to all these questions in detail
it's a well-known fact that a satellite stays in orbit because of the
balance between
gravitational pull and centrifugal force
The angular velocity of the satellite is decided by the force balance
equation that balances the gravitational and centrifugal forces
When the satellite is deployed it is given sufficient speed to
balance these two forces
A satellite near to earth requires more speed to resist the
gravitational pull than the ones located further from the earth
Due to the negligible resistance in space satellites never lose
speed
This means satellites will continue their circular motion around the
earth without any external energy source
Satellites are placed either in low-earth orbit
Medium Earth orbit
Or Geosynchronous Earth orbit, these three orbits are illustrated
here. We will get into more details of them. Later
There is an interesting region in space called the Van Allen belt a
region full of highly energetic charged particles
Which could seriously damage the electronic section of a satellite?
Generally, it is preferred not to park satellites in the Van Allen belt
the decision on what orbit is to be chosen for placing the satellite
depends on the application and purpose of the satellite if The
satellite is built for Earth Observation weather forecasting
geographic area surveying satellite phone calls, etc Then orbits
closer to the earth are chosen

Leo, is the closest to the earth at an altitude of between

160 and 2000 kilometers and it's orbital period is approximately 1.5
hours
But these types of satellite cover less area of the earth. So many
satellites are required to obtain global coverage
That's why in the case of broadcasting a high orbit. Such as geo is
chosen
satellites in geosynchronous orbit are at a height of thirty five
thousand seven hundred and eighty six kilometers and
Rotate at the same angular speed as the earth
It means the satellite takes exactly 23 hours 56 minutes and four
seconds to complete one rotation
Within the geosynchronous orbit. There is a special category of
orbit called
Geostationary orbit which is concentric to the equator of the earth
These satellites remain stationary with respect to the earth
due to this Geostationary satellites are the ideal choice for
television broadcasting since it means you do not have to adjust
the angle of your satellite dish
again, and again

This is the reason why the geostationary belt is so crowded with

satellites and it is managed by an international organization called
ITU Geosynchronous orbits are occupied by a few navigation
satellites. Also geo satellites can cover one-third of the Earth's
surface
So three satellites are sufficient to cover the entire Earth
For navigation applications such as GPS mio is the wise option
even though the Leo is closest to the earth
Satellites in this orbit revolve at a very high speed
Due to this receivers on earth failed to carry out the navigation

Calculations accurately moreover Leo needs a lot more satellites

to cover the entire Earth. Thus GPS satellites used mio in A typical
GPS system 24 satellites can cover the entire earth and the orbital
period is 12 hours
Now let's look at the main components of a communication
satellite
Along with their functions at the heart of communication satellites
are the transponders
The main task of a transponder is to change the frequency of the
received signal remove any signal noise and amplify the signal
power on
Kayuu band satellites the transponder converts from 14 gigahertz
to 12 gigahertz and a satellite can have 20 or more
Transponders it is obvious that transponders require a great deal
of electrical power to handle all of these functions
For power supply a satellite has the options of batteries and solar
panels
The solar panel is used to power the electronic equipment but
during an eclipse time. The batteries are used
You can see a Sun sensor on the satellite
This Sun sensor helps to angle the solar panels in the right
direction so that the maximum power can be extracted from the
Sun
Now, let's see how the transponder receives the input signal from
the antenna
The most common antenna fixed to satellites our reflector antenna
a
Satellite is supposed to follow its intended smooth orbit
however
the
gravitational field around the satellite is not
Uniform due to the unequal mass distribution of the earth and the
presence of the moon and the Sun
Because of this sometimes the satellite gets displaced from its
intended orbital position
This is a dangerous situation since it will lead to a complete loss of
signal

To avoid such a situation

Satellites make use of thrusters
The thrusters are fired and keep the satellite in the right position
these also help satellites to avoid space junk
The fuel needed for the thrusters is saved in tanks in the satellite
body
Of the satellite and control of the thrusters are continuously
monitored from an earth station
Apart from the position controls the earth station also monitors the
satellites health and speed
This is done through tracking telemetry and control systems
These systems continuously send the signal to the earth station
and maintain the contact between earth and the satellite

Generally, these signals are exchanged at different frequencies to

distinguish from other communication signals
Have you ever thought what happens to a satellite when it is no
longer functional or its lifespan is nearing the end
These satellites could harm other operational satellites or
spacecraft
to deal with this situation
Inactive satellites are transferred to the graveyard orbit by
activating the thrusters
Just by increasing the rotational speed of the satellite. We will be
able to transfer it to a higher radius orbit
This operation is made clear in this animation
The graveyard orbit is a few hundred kilometers above the
geostationary orbit
For this operation the thrusters consume the same amount of fuel
as a satellite needs for about three months of station keeping
The satellites we have discussed so far are communication
satellites for GPS satellites
the most important components are an atomic clock and the
antenna
The elbe and navigation antennas used in these kinds of satellites
are also illustrated here
The earth observation satellites which are mostly in Leo carry
various types of sensors imagers, etc. Depending on their mission
Now for some interesting information in the visuals of the satellite
in this video
You might have observed that they were covered with a gold
colored foil
What is the purpose of this foil in?
Fact it is not foil as it appears to be at first sight
If you take a cross-section of it, you can see it has a multi-layered
structure
Satellites face huge temperature variations in space where the
temperatures varies from minus 150 to 200 degrees Celsius
moreover satellites face the issue of heavy solar radiation from the
Sun
This material actually acts as a shield which protects the satellite
components from the heavy temperature variations and from solar
radiation
We hope that you have gained a good insight into different types
of satellites and how they work from this video, please
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