How does a satellite work?

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A satellite is any object that orbits another object in space. Satellites can be artifical, or they can be natural. The moon is a natural satellite. Uses of man-made satellites include machines that relay television signals, take photographs, send telephone traffic, help with weather forecasting, space investigation, and pollution control. Man-made satellites have six main uses: * Scientific Investigation * Earth Observation * Weather * Communications * Navigation * Military http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite Sep 26 08, 8:31 PM

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The internal workings of a satellite depend on the type of satellite and its intended function. The principle that keeps them up in orbit is the action of gravity. A satellite must have sufficient velocity in the direction of its orbit so that it 'falls', under the influence of gravity pulling it towards the centre of the Earth, in such a way that its loss of height is compensated for by the Earth's rotation. This is an example of gravitational force producing centripetal acceleration. The principle of the orbit is described at this link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbit Sep 27 08, 6:43 PM