Satellites, as we know them today, are floating instrument packages designed to complete a task (ie. take pictures, relay a signal, etc.) from space and send the information back to Earth. Since they resided in space, they could cover a larger surface area. They where first introduced during the beginnings of space rockets over 40 years ago, but the concept was concieved many years before that. There are over 8000 satellites currently orbiting the Earth, most not much bigger than a softball, but some the size of a small car. |