American Antenna

Breaking down the physics of satellite communications will allow people to learn more about satellite communication technologies. Communications satellites are commonly used for telephones. Talking to people over long distances is made possible through communications satellites. The signals from the communications satellites are easily retrieved through an earth station. From the perspectives of different people from Earth, it would appear that the communications satellites remain stationary. The communications satellites, however, are not stationary. Communications satellites are placed in what is called a geostationary orbit. A geostationary orbit is an orbit that is situated above Earth’s equator. The geostationary orbit follows the same period of the Earth’s rotation. An object within a geostationary orbit, therefore, follows a specific position relative to the Earth. This enables viewers from the Earth to see an object within a geostationary orbit at all times of the year. Because the communications satellites do not move, we are able to receive easy-to-retrieve, consistent communications from the satellites. Frequencies of different magnitudes are sent from the communications satellites to the earth stations through specific bandwidths. Bandwidths, which are measured in hertz, determine how fast information can be sent. When hertz increases, the speed of the sent information increases.