Artificial Satellites | Physical Science for High School - Grade 9 PDF Download

An artificial satellite is a human made spacecraft which revolves around the earth. Aryabhata was India’s first satellite launched in the year 1975. Bhaskara, Rohini, INSAT-2A and CARTOSAT are some other Indian satellites. 

Artificial satellites are used for forecasting weather, transmitting signals of mobiles or television programmes, etc. 

• The first artificial satellite was Sputnik 1, launched by Russia on 4 October 1957.
  Sputnik 1
• Since then hundreds of artificial satellites have been launched. India has launched several satellites. 
• The GSAT-15 was launched on 11 November 2015. Satellites are extremely useful to us.
  GSAT-15 Satellite
• Some are communication satellites (e.g. GSAT-15) which are used to send telephone conversations and television programmes around the world. 
• Weather satellites are used to forecast the weather. You may have seen satellite pictures of clouds over our country shown on TV. Such pictures not only help us to forecast the weather but also to give early warning of dangerous storms and cyclones. 
• Some satellites, called remote sensing satellites take photographs of the earth to study the features of the earth’s surface. 
• Cartosat-2 is a remote sensing satellite launched by India on 12 January, 2018.
  Cartosat-2
• India launched the world’s first educational satellite called EDUSAT in September 2004. It is used to send educational programmes all over India, even to remote villages.
  
• Satellites are also used to study outer space. They have helped to increase our knowledge of the planets and stars.