What are the two different types of satellites?

Answer 1

There are nine types of artificial satellites. Here is the list: Astronomical satellites, Biosatellites satellites, Communication satellites, Miniaturized Satellites, Navigational satellites, Reconnaissance satellites, Earth observation satellites, Space stations, and Weather satellites.

Answer 2

AnswerI put them into two major classifications: communicators and sensors.

Within communicators there are comm relay satellites, and signaling sats. The former receive a signal from the ground and relay it to another location in some way. Some examples are ground station to ground station, like geosynchronous comm birds, ground station to distributed receiver, like direct broadcast satellite, or store-and-forward LEO like Orbcomm. Signaling satellites include navigation satellites like GPS or GLONASS.

Remote sensors have some sort of device for detecting some signal and relaying it to the ground. Some examples are: GOES and TIROS weather satellites, which detect reflected light or other emitted radiation from the atmosphere. Visible spysats, which look at the ground Chandra X-ray Observatory, which images deep space in the X-ray bands THEMIS, which measures the magnetic field that it is in. Signals intelligence sats, which listen for interesting radio. (I differentiate these from com sats in that the person generating the signal isn't trying to get it relayed to another listener.)

Another orthogonal classification system could be made based on the type of orbit the satellite is in. (Orthogonal meaning that any of the above could be in any of the following orbits.)

LEO = low earth orbit, generally less than 12 hours GEO = geostationary earth orbit, a 24 hour equatorial orbit HEO = high earth orbit, more than 12 hours, but not GEO Solar orbit = no longer in earth orbit.

These could be further subclassified, but that's probably enough.

AnswerDifferent satellites are at different heights. They can be anything from hundreds to thousands of miles above us.

Answer

There are currently (mid-2012) in excess of 3 000 satellites orbiting Earth, and a handful orbiting other planets.

There are in excess of 26 000 arbitrary pieces of space junk orbiting Earth, and sufficiently large as to justify tracking. (Old rocket casings, results of collisions, and so on.) Unfortunately, there are great numbers of smaller pieces that may still be dangerous, not accounted for. A number of these were created when two different satellites were destroyed in orbit, and a couple of satellites collided.

Each GPS-type system consists of a constellation of about 24 satellites, plus a few spares. Currently GPS, Galileo, Glonass, and a Chinese and (a Japapese system ?) are systems fully or partly in orbit.

Some of the observation satellites look towards space.

It is very difficult to provide secure and jam-proof communications with and from satellites.

Answer 3

This depends on your definition of satellite, meaning if you are referring to man made orbital satellites or natural satellites such as the moon.

Natural satellites can take many forms such as a moon, comet, etc. However man made are generally communication satellites used for relaying information around the world. However some can be used for observation purposes such as satellites containing photo lenses to map or observe the Earth itself.

Answer 4

-> Sputnik - 1 (the first artificial satellite)

-> Osumi (first Japenese)

-> Verena 7

-> Luna 16

-> Aryabhatta 1 (first Indian)

-> Landset 1

-> Terra

-> Kalpana 1

Answer 5

Planets, moons of Planets, and asteroids, meteors and comets.

Answer 6

communication navigation monitoring the weather observing the Earth exploring the Solar System

Answer 7

There are more than two types of satellites, but almost basically only two types of orbit, geostationary and polar.

Answer 8

sputnik 1

sputnik 2