Flying Satellites

DID YOU KNOW?

There are more than 250 satellites operating in geostationary orbit alone. These are all remote controlled by satellite operators to maintain service and keep the spacecraft in their allocated location.

From earth, satellites have to get up above the atmosphere and into the vacuum of space to orbit for any length of time. 320 km (200 miles) up is about the minimum to avoid atmospheric interference. The speed of the satellite is adjusted so that it falls to earth at the same rate that the curve of the earth falls away from the satellite. The satellite is perpetually falling, but it never hits the ground!

Once up in its orbital position, the satellite operator literally flies the satellite. This means that in any given day, they perform necessary manoeuvers to ensure the  satellite maintains its precise position towards the earth and to avoid potential collisions and so on. So every satellite operator has at his premises a Satellite Control Centre and a Network Control Centre.

The Satellite Control Centre (SCC) controls the satellite once launched. Via a telemetry link, the control centre communicates with the satellite to ensure that all the satellite subsystems are functioning as expected.

The SCC controls, amongst other things, the:

  • Satellite’s orbit by firing station keeping manoeuvring boosters as appropriate to keep the spacecraft in its planned orbital location.
  • The Payload operation or configuration
  • General monitoring of the performance, or health of the satellite and its systems and subsystems
  • Resolution of anomalies

Satellite control centres are normally highly automated environments and the emphasis of the Spacecraft Controller is placed on supervision of executing automated procedures rather than in their manual execution. The control centre is manned on a 24-hour per day basis throughout the year so that regular satellite operations can be monitored and operational anomalies arising in the satellites or ground control system can be to responded to quickly at any time of the day or night.