Satellites and their Applications

What is a satellite?
 
Any object that revolves around a bigger object is called a satellite. It is classified into two
types: natural satellite and artificial satellite. In astronomy, an example of a natural satellite is
the Moon, as it revolves around the Earth. The artificial satellite, as the name implies, is a
device or device built by man and, depending on the purpose, it travels in orbit around Earth or
another object. The orbit is the path the satellite takes. The artificial satellite remains in orbit
due to the acceleration of Earth's gravity and the speed at which it travels in space, which
depends on the altitude of its orbit. So, for example, the speed of an artificial satellite in an orbit
800 kilometers above Earth is about 26,000 km/h. An artificial satellite is placed in orbit by
means of a launch vehicle: the rocket.
 
Here's a tip from an Internet site, http://stuffin.space/ that allows you to locate all active and
inactive satellites that are rotating around the Earth.
Also, http://earth.google.com/presents an interactive mosaic of the world made with satellite
images.

Composition of a satellite (exemple):

 
A complete satellite development program involves, in addition to the satellite itself, the launch
rocket and the solo segment, which has the function of supervising the operation of the satellite,
controlling its displacement in the predefined orbit and receiving the data sent by it. The
satellite, as illustrated in the figure below, normally consists of three major parts:
 
1) the platform, which contains all the equipment for the operation of the satellite;
2) the solar panel, for the supply of its energy; and
3) the payload, the equipment (antennas, sensors, transmitters), necessary for the fulfillment of
its mission.
 
The most common forms of the satellite (platform) are cube and cylinder.

 Key:

1 - Service Module
2 - UHF Receiving Antenna
3 - IRMSS Chamber
4 - VHF Transmission Antenna
5 - UHF Tx / Rx Antenna
6 - CCD Transmission Antenna
7 - UHF Transmission Antenna
8 - CCD Camera
9 - Payload Module
10 - Solar Panel
11 - UHF Receiving Antenna
12 - WFI Pickup Camera
Process of launching an artificial satellite:
The artificial satellites are taken to the desired height on board a spaceship or attached to a
rocket. Upon reaching the desired height, the satellite is accelerated until it reaches the speed
necessary to stay in orbit. Satellites occupy positions around the Earth where there is no friction
with the air, which ensures that there is no loss of kinetic energy. With this, the satellite
maintains the coasting movement.
Something important to consider is the launch site: the closer to the Equator, the easier and less
costly the launch, as it also requires less fuel because it is closer to the center of the Earth.
 
The occupation of space around the Earth is controlled by the United Nations (UN), which
authorizes or denies new launches and regulates the position of the satellite.

Like other platforms, vehicles, and electronic equipment, satellites need electricity to function.
If satellites used only batteries to supply power when they discharged they would stop working.
To solve this problem, most satellites are equipped with solar panels, which allow the
conversion of solar energy into electrical energy. The solar panel is a large plate covered with
small sheets called solar cells. These cells absorb sunlight and produce electricity, which is
supplied to the satellite via electrical wires. The amount of energy generated by a solar panel
depends on its size and its distance from the Sun. Thus, the larger the plate and the closer it is to
the Sun, the greater the amount of energy generated by the panel.

Newton and his contribution to the launch of satellites:

Isaac Newton was the one who idealized the possibility of placing objects in orbit around the
Earth.
For the first time in his book "Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica", from 1687,
thinking that, just as the Moon orbits the Earth, this would also be possible for other bodies.
Newton imagined that if a stone was thrown horizontally from the top of a mountain, it would
describe a curved path until it hit the ground. If the speed of the launch increased, the distance
traveled by the stone to reach the ground would also increase, therefore, there should be a
certain speed sufficient for the object's trajectory to be circular and that object would return to
the point of origin, circling the Earth.
 
The movement of satellites around the Earth is guaranteed by inertia, a tendency that bodies in
motion have to remain in motion, so these objects are in an infinite free fall around the Earth,
but without touching the surface of the globe.
 
 
There is an equation that determines the speed required for launching a satellite, see:
We can conclude that the speed of launching a satellite depends on the universal gravitation
constant (6,67408.10-11 N.kg²/m²), the mass of the planet (5.9722 × 1024 kg) and the radius of the
orbit. Note that this speed does not depend on the mass of the object to be placed in orbit.
 
 

The value of the satellite's speed

depends also on the type of orbit it
performs, there are three different
orbits: the equatorial; there is also
a polar orbit, used mainly for
mapping; and, finally, we still
have an inclined orbit, in which
the satellites are used for
meteorology.

Remote Sensing:
The set of techniques that allows obtaining information on the Earth's surface from a distance is
called Remote Sensing. Equipment, that is, remote sensors installed on artificial satellites,
placed in Earth orbit, capture and record data from the Earth's surface. The signals registered by
the remote sensors are transmitted to receiving stations on Earth, where they are recorded and
transformed into images.
The artificial satellites, equipped with sensors that capture images of the Earth's surface, are in
orbits far from the Earth. The farther the satellite, the larger the surface area captured by the
sensor. The closer it is to Earth, the smaller the area captured by the sensor, but the greater the
richness of details of the captured image.
The richness of details will also depend on the spatial resolution of the sensor, that is, the ability
it has to "see" or distinguish objects from the Earth's surface.

A sensor with a spatial resolution of 10

meters, for example, is able to detect
objects with this measurement or larger.
Another important aspect of the sensors is
related to the time interval of data
acquisition in the same area. Thus, while
some sensors capture images of the same
area only once a month, others do it daily.
 
The purpose of satellites and their applications:
 
 Artificial satellites are built for different purposes such as telecommunication, espionage,
scientific experiment - in the areas of astronomy and astrophysics; spatial geophysics;
planetology; earth sciences, atmosphere and climate - meteorology, and remote sensing; and
that’s why our dependence on this equipment has been growing every day.  There is a lot of
information that satellites can provide us by sending electromagnetic waves to Earth.
In addition to these direct results, the evolution of this technology opens new frontiers for
research and contributes to the development of products and services that are used by society,
the so-called "spinoffs". An example of a spinoff is ultrasound technology for tumor detection,
derived from satellite image acquisition technology.

1)Meteorology: Thanks to satellites, we can “closely” monitor the numerous weather systems,
monitoring their structure, intensity and displacement. Imagine that on an environmental
satellite you can place numerous types of sensors, with different frequency ranges, and that they
see in different spectra. This allows you to see in great detail, for example, a cumulonimbus
cloud, masses of dry air, fog, cold fronts, and even volcanic ash! And then we return to the
beginning of the column: it is possible to see in detail the hot spots, which can be easily detected
by some algorithm that reads the satellite images.
2) Satellites for military purposes and espionage;
3)Communication satellites (the most numerous);
4)Television satellites;
5)Scientific satellites;
6)Remote sensing satellites of terrestrial resources;

7)War Sattelites: Satellites can also be used in war. Mainly the USA and Russia are working at
full speed to equip their satellites with missiles. The governments of the two countries deny any
war pretensions, but one day an object equipped with intercontinental missiles will become a
reality. To protect against any possible attack, some countries are already developing anti-
satellite rockets. The Chinese are also involved in this “star war”. A few years ago, China
carried out the first destruction of a satellite by means of a projectile.

More Satellite Applications:

 
- Fire and deforestation detection and monitoring;
- Mapping crops, such as beans, oranges;
- Urban expansion;
- Oceanography;
- Public health;
- Other applications.

Interpretation of satellite images:

Worth saying that satellite images are originally processed in black and white, resembling a
very old-fashioned photograph. In computer programs, they can be processed in colors.
 
The process of interpreting an satellite image, that is, identifying the objects represented in it,
uses variations in color, shape, size, texture (roughness impression), location, and context.

Space Junk:

Man has already sent hundreds and hundreds of artificial satellites. But many of them are
currently deactivated. Thus, they still gravitate to the Earth, but as a form of space junk, which
ends up being a big problem.

The higher the altitude of space junk, the longer it will remain in orbit.

Technology has not yet managed to produce equipment capable of collecting space debris. The
only plausible solution so far is to direct satellites to so-called graveyard orbits, which would
basically be programming a satellite to follow an orbital route far from Earth, once its useful
time has elapsed.
 
GPS and MRU equation in use:

The initials GPS come after the English term Global Positioning System. The GPS works by
means of a set of satellites that go into orbit in our Planet. Its function is to locate the position of
the signal receiver.

The GPS satellites and receivers have an internal atomic clock which registers time through an
accuracy of nanoseconds. When the signal is broadcast, the hour when it left the satellite is sent.
That signal, which travels at the speed of light, is kept by the receiver which calculates how
long it took it to arrive. It is possible to mathematically determine what our position is because
we know the position of satellites.

The NIST-F2 Atomic Clock: How does it work?

 
The GPS uses a triangulation system in order to locate the receiver. When we are lost we can
ask someone “Where am I? We can be told the following answer: “It will take you 20 km to
arrive in Leiria City.” It is obvious that we can be at 20 km whatever direction to Leiria. Thus it
is possible to draw a circle having a radius of 20 km (having Leiria City as the centre), so as to
determine the area we are placed. The same can be done having in mind other cities and
applying the triangulation so as to accurately know our position.
The receiver synchronizes its internal signal as a signal sent by satellite, thus determining the
time interval (Δt) between the instant the signal was sent and the instant it was received.

As we know that the data

transmission speed is equal
to the speed of light itself (v
= 2.998 x 10^8 m / s), the
receiver calculates the
separation distance (ΔS)
between the satellite and the
object using the following
equation:
s = s0 + v.t
=s = v.t
Suppose the measured time interval between the GPS and an object is 0.065 s. So, what would
be the distance between the GPS and the object? Just use the above equation to determine the
distance between them. Thus:
 
=s = 2.998 x 10^8. x 0.065
=s = 19,487.00 km
 
The satellites have atomic clocks onboard, which are more accurate. However, to determine the
position by means of triangulation, it is necessary to know two more distances, which can be
determined from two other satellites.It is also used sometimes a fourth satellite to know our
altitude. Today we can see that the GPS has become an accessory widely used by ordinary
people, no longer having only the purpose of military use.
 
 Atomic clocks are integral parts of the Global Positioning System since extreme accuracy in
timing is necessary for the triangulation involved.
They are the most accurate time and frequency standards known, and are used as primary
standards for international time distribution services, to control the wave frequency of television
broadcasts, and in global navigation satellite systems such as GPS.
 

GPS Navigation Message:

The positioning information from GPS satellites in sent in the form of repeating codes which
identify the sending satellite, give locations of the other satellites in the system, and give the
navigation data. The codes which form the GPS signal structure are superimposed upon two
carrier waves in the L-band , a frequency range set aside for satellite communication. 
 
Both the carrier frequencies and the signal frequencies are derived directly from the onboard
atomic clock oscillator frequency of 10.23 MHz. The coded signals are repeated regularly in
epochs on the order of 15 seconds. The codes used are referred to as "pseudo-random codes", a
name applied by early radio astronomers who were the first to make wide use of such codes. 
The codes are well suited to decoding a message embedded in noise signals. Such techniques
were valuable in picking up radar echoes off the moon and asteroids. Use of these codes
facilitates the sorting out of signals which arrive simultaneously from several GPS satellites.
 

Main satellite programs:

 
The development of artificial satellites began in the 1950s with the launch of SPUTNIK-1, on
October 4, 1957, by the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, USSR.
The seed for the future was planted and is the beginning of the space race.
 
In February 1958, the United States launched its first satellite: Explorer-1.Although much
smaller than Sputnik, the Explorer was equipped to detect radiation and discovered the
innermost of Van Allen's two radiation belts, an area of electrically charged solar particles that
surrounds the Earth.
 
After the success of these experiments, the man placed artificial satellites in orbit of four other
stars in the solar system: in 1959, Luna I, around the Sun; in 1966, Luna X, around the Moon; in
1971, Marine IX, around Mars; and, in 1975, Venua IX, around Venus. In the 1960s, satellites
began to effectively influence our daily lives with the launch, in 1962, of the TELSTAR satellite
and, in 1965, of INTELSAT-1. Thus, the global satellite communication network was started,
which made it possible to send live television images. Still, in the 1960s, the first photographs
were obtained from the manned satellites Mercury, Gemini, and Apolo. The results of these
missions reinforced the development of meteorological (unmanned) satellite programs and
ground resources. Thus, on April 1, 1960, the first weather satellite, TIROS-1 (Television and
Infrared Observation Satellite), was launched by the United States. From then on, it was
possible to receive images of the cloud cover over the Earth, observe meteorological
phenomena and make the weather forecasts more accurately and systematically. Only on July
23, 1972, was the first Earth Resource Satellite (Earth Observation) launched, ERTS-1 (Earth
Land Resources), later called Landsat-1.
 
 
In relation to remote sensing satellites (or terrestrial resources), the French program SPOT,
which has already launched five satellites, also deserves mention. Currently, one of the main
and most ambitious programs for collecting data on Earth is the Earth Science Enterprise,
developed by NASA. This program consists of three modules: 1) a series of satellites for
observing the planet; 2) an advanced database system and; 3) a team of scientists who will study
the collected data. The topics studied include clouds, water cycle, and energy; oceans;
atmosphere chemistry; land use; water and ecosystem process; cover of glacial and polar ice and
the solid part of the terrestrial globe. The first satellite of this program, named Terra, was
launched in December 1999. From the end of the 1990s onwards, we had the launch, among
others, of the North American satellites IKONOS and QuickBird and the French SPOT -5.
These satellites carry onboard sensors of high spatial resolution, close to 1 meter. The
availability of this type of data increases the possibility of applications, mainly in studies such
as urban ones, which require high spatial resolution images. Regarding satellites equipped with
radar sensors, we can highlight the RADARSAT 1 and 2 (Canadian) satellites, ERS 1 and 2
(European), replaced by ENVISAT, and JERS-1 (Japanese). The latter was recently replaced by
ALOS, which carries a sophisticated radar sensor, the PALSAR.

Conclusion:

In this work, we highlight the direct and indirect importance of the development of space
technology. Through application examples, we show the great potential of satellite images in the
study and monitoring of terrestrial environments. The information obtained from these images
gives support to planning agencies in the sustainable use of urban and rural environments. In
addition, the increasing free availability of this data on the internet facilitates its use in schools
and by society itself, contributing to the awareness of problems in the local and regional reality
and in the exercise of its increasingly quick response.

Webgraphy:

<https://www.preparaenem.com/geografia/satelites.htm>
<https://www.preparaenem.com/fisica/lancamento-satelites.htm>

<http://ofitexto.arquivos.s3.amazonaws.com/anaveespacialnoe/01.htm>

<http://ofitexto.arquivos.s3.amazonaws.com/anaveespacialnoe/04.htm>

https://canaltech.com.br/ciencia/Satelites-do-nosso-dia-a-dia/>
<https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/lixo-espacial.htm>
Work done by:
Bruno Costa, nº8, 10ºB
Gabriel Coelho, nº 17, 10ºB