The Benefits Of Satellites Essay Research Paper

The Benefits Of Satellites Essay, Research Paper

It has been helping scientists find answers to the unknown, aiding companies like VISA incorporation to spread around the globe, and assisting tourists finding their way when they become lost. The world has profited from artificial satellites since 1951, when Russia launched the first man made satellite called Sputnik I in outer-space to sail where nothing had sailed before. Today, satellites have become so widely used that some of them have become Royalty Free available to civilians around the globe with over 150 countries funding them. With over 2200 operational satellites orbiting the Earth, one has to wonder how do people profit from artificial satellites in everyday life. If we wish to understand why artificial satellites are so useful, the contributions of each type of satellites will have to be outlined starting with satellites’ part of the Global Positioning system (GPS), Reconnaissance Satellites, and finally Telecommunications Satellites.

The Global Positioning System provides users with accurate information about their latitude, longitude, velocity and altitude, as well as the time, anywhere in the world and works in all weather conditions. The GPS was initiated in 1973 by Navstar in the United States and then followed by the Soviet Union with their own GPS. Both GPS systems are free to use by anyone around the world and offers great benefits to the military, commercial companies and civilian residents.

On the military side, the U.S. Air Force uses the GPS to test unmanned prototype aircraft s like the X-22, which can prevent unnecessary human casualties. The GPS is also used in military submarines, Reconnaissance vehicles, jets and carriers to constantly be able to track their location and instantly know if one of the above is in trouble. For example, if a submarine s nuclear plant fails and causes the submarine to slowly sink uncontrollably, the military would know within seconds that the submarine is having technical trouble because of the sudden drop in depth. Of course the military are not the only ones taking advantage of this system, commercial companies have found various new applications for the GPS such as vehicle anti-theft devices where the companies can constantly monitor the location of cars when they get stolen! The police uses the GPS to monitor the location of each police cars to know which one are the closest to a certain address making them able to radio the appropriate vehicle when an emergency merges. Even civilians are now finding out the full potential of the GPS. If you are a tourist, a fisherman, or in a large forest and get lost, new GPS monitors include detailed maps of regions across the world and helps you find your way back home. Popular Science magazine states that now users can log on from home or other remote locations via their personal computers to access the Global Positioning System (Dunne, 32) and this is exactly what environmentalists are doing to be able to keep track of endangered species and to keep them away from hostile territories. The Popular Mechanics magazine says that the GPS has changed the way people navigate the oceans, the skies and land, as well as touched our lives any many other ways, from agriculture, to the construction and maintenance of our infrastructure (Wilson, 64). Although a very efficient system that can be benefited from, the Reconnaissance Satellites offers further benefits to earthlings.

Reconnaissance Satellites are the closest to earth. These satellites are equipped with high resolution cameras which can be utilized in multipurpose applications. There are various types of Reconnaissance Satellites: there are the basic models which are used for photography; then there are more sophisticated models called spy satellites which are capable of capturing motion pictures from Earth s surface; and finally there are the media satellites equipped with special sensors such as heat, infrared and ultra-violet sensors. Each type of satellite has its own set of applications, and benefits humankind in many ways.

The most basic models for instance, helps scientists learn what happened billions of years ago to our planet, how our solar system was born, the depth and activity of volcanoes around the world, and much more. Astronomers who also use the basic models can take pictures of Earth, nearby planets and faraway solar systems to study them and be able to determine facts such as if life is possible or exists anywhere else in the galaxy, what are black holes and to discover new planets galaxies far, far away. Spying satellites on the other hand are usually operated by spy agencies to browse for illegal activities such as drug smuggling. Some commercial companies that have access to spy satellites can offer added security by scanning the surfaces of airlines and larger companies for abnormal activities. Media satellites also have also proved to be useful to countries around the world. By taking a series of heat seeking photos, the forecasters can look at the movement of the clouds as well as the air temperatures on Earth and predict the future climate. These same satellites can also help researchers find rare types of insects throughout a country by searching specific heat and radioactive patterns. With worldwide GPS and Reconnaissance Satellites comes a need for world wide communication, and this is where satellites built just for th