CASPER
New member
On Oct. 4, 1957, the strange bleep-bleeping coming to us from space was Russia's Sputnik space satellite. It was small -- 23 inches in diameter, weighing about 200 pounds.
Since that time, satellites are quite different. The largest -- the International Space Station -- weighs in at 661,857 pounds and is longer than a football field. But, like Sputnik, it hurls along in space at 16,714 miles per hour -- orbiting the earth every 90 minutes -- in low earth orbit, 330 miles above sea level.
The height of the orbit must be clearly above any remnants of the atmosphere -- at least 180 miles high -- which would cause aerodynamic drag, causing the satellite to slow, become erratic and finally crash to earth. The reason for the high speed is, once again, to keep it from crashing. Consider making your own "satellite" by fastening a rubber ball to a thin string. In order to keep it in orbit, you must swing it over your head. The satellite's high speed creates an outward centrifugal force that exactly balances it against the earth's inward gravitational pull. But, if you swing your ball too fast, the string will break and the ball will fly off into space -- and so would a satellite.
The Global Positioning Satellites are in high earth orbit -- about 22,000 miles up and rotate once every 24 hours -- identical to the earth's rotation, so they appear to us to be stationary. There are 26 GPS satellites -- one for each time zone plus two spares.
Counting the 10 most important satellites, seven are American; one, the international space station is multinational; one is Russian; and one is natural -- the moon, 239,000 miles above sea level.
The American satellites consist of two weather, two communication and one each astronomy, spy and research. The one Russian is a super-secret weapons-oriented satellite. The moon is used by tides and werewolves.
The U.S. Strategic Command tracks more than 18,000 satellites -- mostly space junk -- which are larger than two inches in diameter. They estimate there are more than 1 million additional pieces of junk between 1/16 inch and two inches. All these pieces are flying around at nearly 17,000 mph, and there are genuine worries about collisions in what has become the world's largest junkyard.
One disastrous collision occurred on Feb. 2, 2009, between an Iridium communications satellite and a Russian one. The collision destroyed both and created thousands of pieces of space junk. For unknown reasons, the Chinese intentionally crashed two of their satellites, causing additional thousands of junk. This action was heavily criticized by the rest of the world. The larger pieces could easily destroy other satellites, or at a minimum, render them non-operational. It is akin to sprinkling the street with roofing nails and then trying to avoid them.
Since that time, satellites are quite different. The largest -- the International Space Station -- weighs in at 661,857 pounds and is longer than a football field. But, like Sputnik, it hurls along in space at 16,714 miles per hour -- orbiting the earth every 90 minutes -- in low earth orbit, 330 miles above sea level.
The height of the orbit must be clearly above any remnants of the atmosphere -- at least 180 miles high -- which would cause aerodynamic drag, causing the satellite to slow, become erratic and finally crash to earth. The reason for the high speed is, once again, to keep it from crashing. Consider making your own "satellite" by fastening a rubber ball to a thin string. In order to keep it in orbit, you must swing it over your head. The satellite's high speed creates an outward centrifugal force that exactly balances it against the earth's inward gravitational pull. But, if you swing your ball too fast, the string will break and the ball will fly off into space -- and so would a satellite.
The Global Positioning Satellites are in high earth orbit -- about 22,000 miles up and rotate once every 24 hours -- identical to the earth's rotation, so they appear to us to be stationary. There are 26 GPS satellites -- one for each time zone plus two spares.
Counting the 10 most important satellites, seven are American; one, the international space station is multinational; one is Russian; and one is natural -- the moon, 239,000 miles above sea level.
The American satellites consist of two weather, two communication and one each astronomy, spy and research. The one Russian is a super-secret weapons-oriented satellite. The moon is used by tides and werewolves.
The U.S. Strategic Command tracks more than 18,000 satellites -- mostly space junk -- which are larger than two inches in diameter. They estimate there are more than 1 million additional pieces of junk between 1/16 inch and two inches. All these pieces are flying around at nearly 17,000 mph, and there are genuine worries about collisions in what has become the world's largest junkyard.
One disastrous collision occurred on Feb. 2, 2009, between an Iridium communications satellite and a Russian one. The collision destroyed both and created thousands of pieces of space junk. For unknown reasons, the Chinese intentionally crashed two of their satellites, causing additional thousands of junk. This action was heavily criticized by the rest of the world. The larger pieces could easily destroy other satellites, or at a minimum, render them non-operational. It is akin to sprinkling the street with roofing nails and then trying to avoid them.