The advantages of space satellites are:

- Communication.

Satellites have greatly improved communication, not just nationally, but internationally. Nowadays a call can be placed from the United Kingdom to China in a matter of seconds.

Satellites also enable us to have mobile phones, without satellites, mobile phones are just a useless plastic square with numbers on it.

Satellites have also improved military communications (see below).

- Military and Security.

Military-controlled spy satellites are constantly scanning and keeping an eye on hostile territories around the globe, providing images, video and even voice recordings(!) to military command and intelligence agencies.

Satellites have also improved communication on the battlefield. Rather than using carrier pigeon services, wired phones and short-range wireless phones (which are not reliable), troops overseas now have satellite phones which can be used to contact friendlies, their headquarters, an allied aircraft carrier hundreds of miles away for air support and so on with rarely any complications.

(It is also theoretically possible to store missiles in space satellites and launch them at Earth. However such practices have been deemed illegal by the United Nations. An ordinary missile entering Earth from space will cause roughly the same amount of damage as a nuclear bomb, according to the Kinetic Bombardment Theory).

- Science and Discovery.

Satellites have the capability to carry scientific instruments through space, such as atmospheric readers, cameras and so on. These satellites roam space and beam images and scientific data back to Earth, enabling us to learn more about the planets in our solar system as well as about space itself.

- Navigation, Tracking and Mapping.

Satellites make it possible for us to have satellite navigation systems (better known as Global Positioning System, or GPS).

This enables us to have a device in our cars to tell us exactly where we need to go. They are also found in planes and ships to tell the pilots where they need to go and where they are.

Many new mobile phones have tracking devices in them, which is useful for parents who need to keep track of where their children are and to the police if a person goes missing.

The black boxes of aeroplanes (which believe it or not, are actually orange, not black) are embedded with a tracking device so it can be located after a plane crash, even if it ends up at the bottom of an ocean.

Tracking devices are also fitted to official, government and military vehicles for security reasons, such as preventing a bank van being hijacked or tracking a stolen military vehicle so jets can be sent in to destroy it.

Because of satellites, we now have access to a global map of the planet. We now know exactly what the planet looks like, providing us with the most accurate maps and atlases that have ever been produced before satellite mapping.

- Entertainment.

Yes, that's right, entertainment.

Satellites enable us to have satellite and digital television for everyday entertainment. Our daily and live television is beamed to us through satellites. Particularly if you live in the United Kingdom, where every television in the country is now digital.

Satellites also help digitally spread radio waves and even wireless internet.

The reason you can see friends on webcams from thousands of miles away, is mostly because of satellites feeding the webcam recording directly to your wireless router or internet modem.

- Weather, Meteorology, Geology and Climatology.

Satellites enable us to watch atmospheric changes in the Earth's atmosphere, enabling us to predict and forecast the weather.

They can also enable us to spot the early warning signs of a developing hurricane, for example, predict the path of the hurricane and organise evacuation of the areas that are going to be affected.

Satellites also enable us to scan the surface of the Earth for geological research and geological analysis. Particularly to predict when an active volcano is about to launch, to, again, organise evacuation.

Satellites also have the capability to forecast temperatures and gasses in our atmosphere. Which enables climatologists to update us about the progression of Global Warming on our planet.

- Earth's Shape and Earth's Distance.

Because of the shape of the Earth (sphere) and the vast size of the planet, it would normally be very difficult for ordinary wireless radio signals to reach one end of the globe to the other without receiving some form of interference. However, because of a system of satellites around the Earth these wireless signals, whether they be communication, television images and so on, can be bounced between the system of satellites and reach their required destination, without the normal interference that we would experience from wireless communication in the early 1900's.

There are of course some disadvantages to artificial satellites. They are very costly to launch and maintain. Abandoned satellites contribute to space junk making it dangerous for space shuttles to leave and enter the atmosphere. And so on.

However, the advantages of satellites far, far, outweigh the disadvantages.

Country code +882 (dialed as 00 882 from many places) is used for "international networks"; the next two digits after the country code specify the network, including some regional satellite phones and other uses. For example, +882 16 is used by Thuraya for regional satellite phones.

(The plus sign means "insert your international access prefix here." From a GSM mobile phone, you can enter the number in full international format, starting with the plus sign. The most common prefix is 00, but North America (USA, Canada, etc.) uses 011, Japan uses 010, Australia uses 0011, and many other countries use different prefixes.).

Prev. Answer : A satellite does not need fuel to keep orbiting because it continues to orbit due to its inertia, which balances the effect of Earth's gravity.

Improved Answer : Satellites with no atmospheric interactions IDEALLY revolve around the Earth due to inertia, BUT most satellites ARE FUELLED because :

(1) some of them have elliptical orbits that may bring them close to the atmosphere during their orbits (for example Molniya orbits).

(2) satellites are affected by third body gravitational interactions (Sun, Moon) that affect their position (orbital altitude) every time they complete one revolution.

(3) Solar radiation pressure can cause a deviation in path over one complete revolution.

(4) Meteoric rock particles may hit the satellite causing orbit deviation.

In fact, the major factor is usually the effect of atmospheric drag.

Hence, most satellites are fuelled to correct their deviations in position, averaged over one complete revolution, by giving optimum thrust, decided by Navigation & Control team at station in Earth.

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, which was the first man-made satellite.
The first satellite was Sputnik 1, launched on October 4, 1957.

Sputnik is the first publicly recognized artificial satellite, but there are large rumors (but obviously no confirmation for this is classified information) that the U.S. launched a modified V-2 rocket in 1948.
in 1957
Sputnik 1 was the first satellite. It was launched by the former Soviet Union in 1957.
The first satellite put into orbit was a Russian satellite called sputnik. It was put into orbit on 10/4/1957.

The design of the satellites has remained essentially the same over the years; the differences have just been in their operations.

The first 11 satellites, known as Group I and designed by Rockwell International, were launched into orbit between 1978 and 1985 from Vandenburg Air Force Base in California. Each of these satellites contained one Cesium and two Rubidium atomic clocks and could provide navigation and standard positioning information. Continuous contact with the Ground Control Segment (CS) was required for their operation. They were designed to last five years, but most lasted much longer.

The next group of 9 satellites are called Group II and were also designed by Rockwell. These were the first to provide precision positioning information for military use and to be able to operate for 14 days without contact with the CS. Group II satellites contained four clocks two Cesium and two Rubidium and were launched between February 1989 and October 1990 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. They were designed to last 7.3 years and two currently remain in operation.

The Group IIA satellites were next group to be designed by Rockwell and numbered 19. They are similar to the Group II satellites, except they have the ability to operate 180 days without contact with CS. These were launched from Cape Canaveral between November 1990 and November 1997. All but three of these satellites are still in operation.

The most recent type, Group IIR, were designed by Lockheed Martin and each have three Rubidium clocks. They were designed to provide more accurate information through a combination of ranging techniques and communication between the satellites. They are also designed to last slightly longer (7.8 years) and to have improved independent controls. There are currently 12 such satellites in orbit the most recent launched in November 2004.

The satellites are launched via a Delta II rocket designed by Boeing. These are expendable launch vehicles (ELVs), meaning they are intended for one use only. Each of these ELVs consists of the following:

• Stage I which contains fuel and oxygen tanks to supply the main engine during its climb;

• Solid rocket booster motors to provide additional thrust during the first two minutes of flight;

• Stage II which contains the fuel and oxidizer tanks that supply the engine needed to insert the ELV into orbit and the brains of the ELV, including its guidance system;

• Stage III that has a solid rocket motor to provide any needed velocity change.

More input from others:

• According to SMC Fact Sheet (URL

http://www.losangeles.af.mil/smc/pa/fact_sheets/gps_fs.htm), as well as Garmin (URL http://www.garmin.com/aboutGPS/), there are 24 satellites in the system with an additional 4 on reserve.

Artificial satellites are human-made, orbital objects sent into space. (There are several thousand of these in orbit around Earth.) Our moon is the only natural satellite that Earth has.

Related Information:

Since 1957, the term has been applied to objects that orbit the Earth. Now a number of objects have been put into orbit around various planets, moons and even our Sun.

NASA currently has a plan to move a small asteroid to a near Earth position in stable orbit. This action has the potential to create an orbiting object that is not man made. It has not yet been established whether this will be termed an artificial, natural, or other type of satellite.

There are satellites beaming down television to us, providing pictures for Google earth, positioning for the GPS system, etc.

The Space Shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station. Both of those assemblies are man-made, and both are in orbit around the earth. When the shuttle returned to earth, you heard about it on TV news. If you get your TV through a little dish on top of your garage, then you received it from another man-made satellite.
An artificial satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavor. They are called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites like the Moon. Examples of artificial satellites are Communications Satellites and Monitering Satellites.

The appropriate wording should be frequencies instead of waves. Satellites use many different frequencies to transmit and/or receive information. The way that these frequencies travel are by waves. as mention above there are many different kinds of frequencies/waves. Here is a short list:

• Microwaves.
• UHF
• Gamma-Ray
• Infrared
• Ultra violet
• X-rays

it is important to note that gamma/x rays expose humans to harmful radiation so i dont think there used, but n e way.

The first two man-made satellites to achieve earth orbit successfully were both launched by the Soviet Union (USSR).

The First was called Sputnik 1 ["Traveler"] and was launched in 1957 Oct.4th

It wasn't the first attempt, but it was the first success.
Russian