Topic outline

  • What is a satellite?   

    Satellites are a common occurrence in today's world and are very important for humankind. A satellite is defined as anything that has been captured by the gravity of a larger object, and is in orbit around that object (the moon is a satellite of Earth). A satellite can be as small as a grain of sand or as big as the moon and these would be called natural satellites.

    You may be familiar with man-made satellites.  These items have been launched into orbit for various purposes which range from providing a living area for astronauts, communications, a study of our oceans/land/atmosphere, and military surveillance/spy satellites.

    In the previous projects you have explored the forces that contribute to centripetal force which are the forces satellites encounter.  Below are some models of important satellites. The NEAR Schoemaker satellite traveled to the NEO (Near Earth Asteroid) Eros to study it, landed on it and is there today.  Have fun making a model of the New Horizons satellite which visited Pluto in July, 2015 and is headed out into the Kuiper Belt now! Neither NEAR or New Horizons are not visible to the naked eye.  The template and instructions for the model follow.  There is also a crossword puzzle about the different types of satellites that can now be found orbiting Earth.