Do you know how many satellites there are in the sky?You may think of some famous satellites, such as the International Space Station, the Beidou navigation system, the ocean satellite, etc., but these are actually just the tip of the iceberg.
According to statistics, there are currently more than 4,084 satellites in orbit, of which nearly 3,000 are from the United States, while China and Russia have more than 500 and 100 respectively.
What are these satellites for?How are they launched and managed?Will they collide with each other or fall to the ground?
When you talk about artificial satellites, you can think of them as "stars in the sky" that we humans send into the sky with the help of rockets or other tools, orbiting the Earth or other planets.
They not only exist to unravel the mysteries of the universe, but can also undertake a variety of tasks such as communication, navigation, meteorology, and reconnaissance. The birth and launch of artificial satellites marked a giant leap forward in the history of human science and technology, as they allowed us to transcend the limits of Earth's gravity and explore space freely.
So, how was the artificial satellite ingeniously invented?At the beginning of the last century, some genius scientists and engineers began to fantasize and study the possibility of creating artificial satellites early on. Among them, Tsiolkovsky, the "father of cosmonautics" of Russia, is a well-deserved pioneer.
As early as 1903, he proposed the theory of launching artificial satellites using multi-stage rockets in an article. This idea became the inspiration for many rocket specialists, including Goddard in the United States, von Braun in Germany, and Korolev and Tikhon Ravov in the Soviet Union. All this is the beginning of the glorious history of Sputnik.
After World War II, rocket technology advanced rapidly, and the development of artificial satellites also entered the substantive stage. In 1955, the United States announced the launch of artificial satellites between 1957 and 1958 and joined the International Geophysical Year program. The Soviet Union also responded positively and rapidly advanced the development of satellites.
In 1956, the Soviet Union officially approved the launch program of the artificial satellite, and the team led by Korolev and Tikhon Ravov was responsible for the design and manufacture of the satellite.
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik-1, into orbit using the R-7 rocket. The weight of this satellite may be much lighter than you think, only 836 kilograms, it is a round ball of more than half a meter, and it is equipped with four antennas on the surface.
It only takes 98 minutes to circumnavigate the globe, emit a "tick-tick" radio signal, and lasts for 21 days until the battery runs out. It completed 1,440 laps in orbit, covering a total of 70 million kilometers, before crashing into the atmosphere on January 4, 1958, completely burning up.
The launch of Sputnik-1 shocked the world and sparked a strong interest and curiosity in space. It ushered in a new era of human space exploration and marked the Soviet Union's leading position in the field of astronautics. This incident made the United States feel great competitive pressure and a sense of crisis, forcing them to accelerate their own satellite program.
On January 31, 1958, the United States successfully launched the first artificial satellite "Explorer 1" using the "Juno 1" rocket, ending the Soviet Union's monopoly in this field. Since then, the development of artificial satellites has entered a new era of competition and cooperation.
After a successful precedent, space immediately became a new battlefield for various countries to compete for. The superpowers of the time, the United States and the Soviet Union, began a fierce space race, trying to surpass each other in space technology and exploration in order to demonstrate their respective power and influence.
This competition is not only about the launch of satellites, but also includes artificial earth satellites, manned spaceflight, lunar exploration, space stations and other fields, which has lasted for decades and has had a profound impact on the progress of human space industry.
At the beginning of the space race, the Soviet Union had a clear advantage. In 1959, they successfully sent a probe satellite to the moon, and in 1961, cosmonaut Gagarin became the first person to orbit the Earth, aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft, setting two firsts in human history.
In contrast, the United States launched the first communications satellite "Telesta 1" in 1962 and successfully achieved the great feat of landing the first human moon in 1969.
This is the "Apollo program" that we hear a lot about, a total of 17 missions were carried out, 6 of which successfully reached the moon and sent 12 astronauts.
The United States and the Soviet Union set new records in the space race, which promoted the continuous progress and innovation of space technology. They have made major breakthroughs in the design, manufacture, launch, control and application of satellites, laying a solid foundation for the development of satellites in the future.
In addition, they have also broken new ground in the field of space exploration, including space stations, space laboratories, space planes, space telescopes, space probes, etc., providing more ways for mankind to understand the mysteries of space.
In addition, the United States and the Soviet Union also made a series of breakthroughs in space cooperation, such as the "Apollo-Soyuz" joint flight in 1975, the "Mir" space station in 1986, and the International Space Station in 1998, which opened up a new situation for the internationalization and multilateralization of the space industry.
In addition to the United States and the Soviet Union, other countries have also joined the space race. Europe established the European Space Research Organization (ESRO) in 1964 and launched its first satellite, CommunicationsSat-1, in 1975. Japan launched the first "Osumi 1" in 1970, followed by the first communication satellite "Nippon 1" in 1975.
China also started the Dongfanghong program in 1970, and has successfully launched two satellites, and the "Dongfanghong 2" is still a return satellite.
India launched the first "Ariyabuta 1" in 1975, followed by the first communication satellite "Aria Buta 2" in 1981. The development of these countries in the field of space has not only demonstrated their scientific and technological strength and international status, but also added a new look to the diversification and diversification of the space industry.
You may often hear how many satellites are sent by countries, but do you know how many satellites there are in space today?According to the satellite database of the United Space Research Center (UCS), as of April 30, 2018, the total number of satellites in orbit worldwide was 4,084.
Among them, the United States accounts for the majority, with 830, accounting for 61 of the global total3%ï¼›China has 280, accounting for 106%, in second place;Russia has 1147, accounting for 41%, in third place;There were 980 in other countries and regions, accounting for 24%.
These satellites have a variety of functions and uses, covering communications, navigation, meteorological monitoring, remote sensing, scientific exploration and other fields, as well as military, commercial, educational and other uses.
People often wonder if so many satellites are flying in space, and they don't collideIn fact, collisions between satellites are very rare because they operate in different orbits, at considerable distances, and all have precise orbit control and monitoring systems that can avoid potential dangers in time.
Of course, it is not entirely impossible to collide, as in the case of the 2009 incident, when a decommissioned Russian communications satellite and a U.S. commercial communications satellite collided in space, creating a large amount of space debris.
Such incidents pose a threat to the safety of other satellites, so countries are working to reduce the generation of space debris and explore ways to clean up space debris.
So, will satellites fill the night sky in the future?In reality, this is almost unlikely. Despite the large number of satellites, they are very small in size and density, insignificant relative to the scales of the Earth and space.
Moreover, not all satellites can be seen by the naked eye, and only at certain times and angles, when the satellites reflect sunlight, can they twinkle in the night sky. So, don't worry about satellites obscuring the beauty of the night sky. With a love of space in your heart, you can enjoy the stars and moons shining in the night sky.
In the boundless space world, the spirit of exploration and scientific and technological innovation of mankind continue to promote the development of the space industry. From the initial competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to the participation of all countries in the world, space has become an area of joint exploration and cooperation among many countries. Satellites twinkle brightly in the night sky, recording the unremitting efforts of human beings and the courage to pursue the unknown.
Although we are concerned about whether satellites will obscure the beauty of the starry sky and whether there will be a danger of collision, human ingenuity and creativity will continue to guide us to explore the wider world of stars in space.
In this long sea of stars, we look forward to the further development of space science and technology, which will bring more surprises and miracles to mankind. Let us hope that in the future night sky, satellites and stars will weave a new space legend together.