• Question: How do satellites work

    Asked by moat532rynd94 to Rocket_Dan, Connie H, Cara W, bethanyclarke, Ben D, Alessio S on 30 Mar 2026.
    • Photo: Daniel Innes

      Daniel Innes answered on 30 Mar 2026:

      Satellites use batteries and fuel to power their subsystems. These power thrusters, cameras and antennas and lots of other stuff! The satellite gets launched into space and orbits the Earth. They work by gathering data and transmitting the data back to Earth.

    • Photo: Cara Waters

      Cara Waters answered on 31 Mar 2026:

      Satellites get launched into space on rockets and put into orbit around the Earth – this requires a lot of fuel. They then have onboard fuel or batteries and solar panels to keep giving them electricity to run. You also need them to have an antenna so that they can talk to ground stations on Earth, send back data, and receive instructions on how to operate.

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