On Demand
Please Explain: Satellites
Friday, September 05, 2008
Please Explain is all about satellites – find out what they are, how they work, and what role they play in your everyday life – from cellphones to the weather report. Dr. Christopher Small is a geophysicist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University; Dr. Scott E. Palo is a satellite engineer and Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at UC Boulder.
- About This Program »
- Staff Bios »
- Contact Us »
- Guest Hosts »
- Guest Picks »
- Latest Show »
- Tapes & Transcripts »
- Show Archive »
Features & Series
Podcast
Stay up to date.
Subscribe to the Podcast
Shop at Amazon!
Leonard Lopate Show picks
Start your Amazon shopping on WNYC.org and a portion of your total purchase goes to WNYC.
More
Comments
Refresh
if most satellites are geosynchronous, why can I see satellites moving across the night sky? I would think they would seem to stay in the same place ...in which case I wouldnt notice them.
most geo sats are "parked" by the Equator
This is a great real time link, java, to satellite orbits:
http://science.nasa.gov/Realtime/jtrack/3d/JTrack3d.html
also there is a noteworthy satellite post at slashdot today:
http://science.slashdot.org/science/08/09/05/1231228.shtml
Is anyone with the money to do so allowed to launch a satellite? Is there some sort of national/international regulation committee to keep them organized up there?
What about space junk, are our satellites safe?
Caitlin,
If you look at the Nasa link above and select the "Satellites" menu option, you can view only amateur satellites.
A
I've read (in Wired) that private citizens have been profiled for tracking satellites in the sky. Basically they can't be hidden and people like Osama bin Landin can literally hide from spy satellites.
How much danger is the space shuttle in regarding the debris that orbits the earth? Will there be a point where it will be too dangerous to launch humans into space because of the clutter or will there always be enough space out there to get through?
To follow up, there are communities on the internet that share satellite information.
Leave a Comment
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Back to EpisodeEmail addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. WNYC reserves the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the WNYC.org Comment Guidelines before posting.