Satellites - National Air and Space Museum
Humans have also created artificial satellites—human-made machines and spacecraft in orbit around our Earth or other objects in our galaxy. These types of satellites have fundamentally changed humanity—such as connecting us with people across the globe or sending us important scientific information about far away planets.
Communications Satellites - National Air and Space Museum
By the mid-1960s, communications satellites had become reliable tools. Satellites positioned in high orbits could "see" large swaths of Earth, allowing them to receive and send signals from distant places. Satellites brought radical change, filling in communication gaps and providing telephone and television connection nearly worldwide.
Military Reconnaissance | National Air and Space Museum
From 1960 to 1972, more than 100 Corona missions took over 800,000 photographs. As cameras and imaging techniques improved, Corona and other high-resolution reconnaissance satellites provided increasingly detailed information to U.S. intelligence analysts. In this video, listen to curator James David talk about the Corona spy satellite.
Communications Satellite, Echo 1 - National Air and Space Museum
Radio signals directed at Echo from one location on Earth "bounced" to another. By the time Echo 2 was launched in 1964, other types of communications satellites had proven superior, and researchers used the Echos primarily for scientific experiments. Echo satellites, manufactured by the G.T. Schjeldahl Co., posed a unique technical challenge.
Spacecraft - National Air and Space Museum
Learn about different types of spacecraft, both crewed and uncrewed, used for space exploration.
What Can You Really See From Space?
2011年4月8日 · People sometimes ask me if it's possible to see even more detail from space. In this post I'll explore what is really visible in different types of satellite data. There are dozens of orbiting remote sensing satellites, and the level of detail they see depends on its precise mission. "Remote sensing" just means looking at something from a distance.
How Satellites Track Storms From Space
2018年9月14日 · Today, different types of satellites, using a variety of tools, monitor and capture images of weather on Earth and in space. If you turn on your television during a major weather event, almost every channel will feature something similar: anchors and meteorologists donning waterproof attire, explaining the path of the storm with the help of a ...
Communications Satellite, Echo 1 - National Air and Space Museum
By the time Echo 2 launched in 1964, other types of communications satellites had proven superior, and researchers used the Echos primarily for scientific experiments. Echo satellites posed a unique technical challenge. They were essentially balloons sent into orbit folded flat and then inflated in space.
Communications Satellite, Iridium - National Air and Space Museum
Conceived, designed, and built by Motorola, the Iridium system provides wireless, mobile communications through a network of 66 satellites in polar, low-Earth orbits. Inaugurated in November 1998, under the auspices of Iridium LLC, this complex space system allowed callers using hand-held mobile phones and pagers to communicate anywhere in the ...
Space Shuttle Discovery | National Air and Space Museum
On the first mission, the crew of the Discovery delivered three satellites while also demonstrating how the shuttle could serve as more than a delivery vehicle. Meet the Crew Members Over 250 crew members flew aboard Discovery .