By some distance the most important scientific satellite ever put into orbit the Hubble Space Telescope enabled astronomers to view stars and galaxies in previously unimagined detail Its optics and systems have been continually upgraded by Shuttle missions Hubble has even enabled astronomers to begin divining the origins of the Universe
INTRODUCTION In space a satellite is an object locked in orbit following its curved path around a more massive object It was long understood that the Moon orbited the Earth in this way A method for placing artificial satellites in orbit around Earth was first suggested in 1903 Fifty years passed until the technology was ready Then beeping Sputnik 1 speeding up to 17,000 miles 25,000 km per hour circled the globe More than 3,000 satellites from 50 different countries have since been placed in orbit forever changing the way we see the world communicate and view the cosmos A Boeing Delta IV heavy lift vehicle or rocket blasts a US GOES weather satellite on its journey into orbit The Delta is one of several orbital launchers used by the 10 or so spacefaring nations An average of 120 satellites are launched every year
