Communication Satellites

Communication Satellites

Have you ever thought about how that little phone in your hand works? What about how you always seem to have internet and cable access? A satellite is a device put into orbit around Earth that uses receivers, amplifiers, and transmitters to receive and send signals around the globe (“Communications Satellite Aug. 2007”). Satellites provide the signals to these and more devices. Satellites orbit Earth and provide global communications, as well as collect valuable data. Many countries and companies currently compete for the valuable orbits for satellites. Individuals and countries alike have pushed themselves and each other to improve their space technology by testing and using new and innovative ideas.

In the beginning of the twenty-first century satellites were solely used for telecommunications, television, and radio (“Communications Satellite Aug. 2007”). “The success of early satellites sparked interest in communication satellites from the private sector” (“Communications Satellites June 2008”). Early satellites were extremely low tech, but the possibilities for satellites to be used for communications continued to improve. One of the most important steps towards global communications was the invention of rocket flight in the mid 1940’s (Palmer 319). “Before 1956, people could speak to each other across the Atlantic Ocean only by transatlantic cables” (“Communications Satellite June 2008”). “In 1956, the first transatlantic cables were in place on the ocean floor, but there were not enough of them to handle the increasing volume of telephone calls” (“Communications Satellite Aug. 2007”). By the early 1960s, there were still only about forty channels of transatlantic communication, with little promis...

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...data, will ensure that satellites will always be used.

Works Cited

"Communications Satellite." Gale Science In Context. Gale Science In Context, 1 June 2008. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.

"Communications Satellite." Gale Science In Context. Gale Science In Context, 30 Aug. 2007. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.

"Communications Satellite Industry." Gale Science In Context. Gale Science In Context, 2012. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.

Marsden, Ann T. "The Evolution of Satellite Communications." Science and Its Times. Ed. Neil Schlager and Josh Lauer. Vol. 7: 1950 to Present. Detroit: Gale, 2001. 515-17. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.

Palmer, Diane Nagel. "Communication Satellites." Dictionary of American History. Ed. Stanley I. Kutler. 3rd ed. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. 319-20. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.