Satellites

Learning Goals

I WILL UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE AND ROLES OF SATELLITES.

I WILL UNDERSTAND CANADA’S ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SATELLITES.

Satellites

1 natural satellite – the moon

1000s of artificial satellites More than 40 countries have put more than 3000 satellites into orbit!

Orbit outside the Earth’s atmosphere at altitudes of 200km to 35 000 km!

Human occupied: Space shuttle

International Space Station

is 350 km from Earth and takes 90 min to orbit Earth

Brief history

Sputnik I – USSR in 1957

Explorer I – USA in 1958

Alouette I – Canada in 1962

Early bird – first communication satellite in 1965

How Satellites Work

Canada’s Role

World leader in the last 50 years in developing satellite technology

Have built very powerful telecommunication and Earth observation satellites

Staying in Orbit

The force of the Earth’s gravity constantly pulls the satellite towards Earth

The forward motion of the satellite and the curvature of Earth prevents it from falling into the atmosphere

Low Earth Orbit Satellites

Altitudes up to 2000 km

Orbit is close to the Earth, only just above the atmosphere.

With a good camera you can see the headlines on a newspaper!

Human occupied & Earth observation

Medium Earth Orbit Satellites

Altitudes up to 35 000 km

GPS satellites

24 satellites and ground stations

Making two complete orbits in less than 24 hrs

Travelling at 11 000 km/h

Use three satellites to triangulate a location

Altitudes up to 35 000 km

GPS satellites

24 satellites and ground stations

Making two complete orbits in less than 24 hrs

Travelling at 11 000 km/h

Use three satellites to triangulate a location

Geostationary Orbit Satellites

path is directly over equator with a period equal to the period of the Earth’s rotation.

Appear motionless in the sky

At the right distance the satellite will take 24 hours to orbit the Earth. Because the Earth is also spinning once each 24 hours the satellite stays above the same place on the Earth all the time.

Used to broadcast TV and radio

Space Debris

According to the U.S. Space Command (USSC), there are more than 8,000 objects larger than a softball now circling the globe.

Of these, over 2000 are satellites (working and not).

Learning Goals Revisited

I WILL UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE AND ROLES OF SATELLITES.

I WILL UNDERSTAND CANADA’S ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SATELLITES.

Please Complete

Pg. 351 #2 and 9

Read Mysteries Beyond the Planets (Pg. 353) and summarize the article in one paragraph.